Problem With The Curve
by Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Summary: After a gym class mishap at school, Alan goes to his pediatrician and finds his world turned upside down. Now he's facing surgery, physical therapy and like a regular fourteen year old teenager, he just wants to be seen as a normal kid. Family is the anchor through rough waters and Alan is about to find out how instrumental his family will be to his recovery. AU - COMPLETE - EDITED
1. Diagnosis

It wasn't something any of my family noticed. I'm sure if maybe my mom and dad or maybe my pediatrician had noticed it before I turned fourteen, I could have had it corrected before it got so bad. Perhaps the worst way to discover it was after throwing my back out in a game of Titanic in gym class. Titanic is such a stupid game anyway.

Alan was laying in his bed back home on the island, arms crossed tightly across his chest as he pouted. He was miserable. Since throwing his back out three weeks ago, he couldn't really tolerate lifting much without making electric shocks shoot up and down his spine. Thus the reason his dad was currently downstairs making a phone call for Alan to be seen by his pediatrician.

Alan's back pain hadn't gotten better and with Gordon having had back problems in the past what with the hydrofoil accident requiring Gordon to have many surgeries, he tried to help with applying heated rice bags to ease muscle tension, rubbing icy hot into his back every so often and even dragging Alan from his bed to bear hug back crack which only proved to cause more discomfort for Alan rather than help. It sucked.

Now he was required to stay in bed per Virgil's orders as a medic and told by his dad that he could go no further than his bed to the couch in the living room and bathroom. He was banned from doing chores of any kind and now Alan had an electric heat pad under his back as Kyrano poured him some concoction of herbs that was said to do wonders for back pain and stiffness.

It wasn't long before Jeff was perching on the edge of his bed and rubbing his ankle while he spoke.

"I made an appointment for you to be seen by your pediatrician for this Friday. Tomorrows Wednesday so we'll go over day after tomorrow and spend the night and you'll be in first thing Friday morning." Jeff said as he squeezed Alan's leg in comfort.

"This sucks. I wish I could do more than just lay in bed." Alan said as he tried to change his position in bed and only succeeded in making a jolt of what felt like electricity shoot through his spine. His dad didn't miss the grimace much to Alan's chagrin.

"Why don't you roll over and I'll put some icy hot on your back and just give you a back rub for a bit?" Jeff suggested as he lifted Alan's blankets marginally when his son offered a slow nod. Jeff put out a hand and grasped Alan's hand when the boy asked for the assistance to simply sit up. With Jeff's help, they managed to remove Alan's shirt and get Alan flipped onto his stomach. Jeff squirted some icy hot into his hands and proceeded to rub the cream together in attempt to warm it up. Starting in the small of Alan's back, Jeff rubbed the cream onto Alan's back while applying pressure in even circles.

Alan moaned softly in his throat at the pressure being applied to his back. He was greatly appreciative of his dad's help. His dad had been in meetings all morning and had asked to not be bothered up until Virgil said Alan's pain wasn't anything he could further treat. Alan needed something stronger to alleviate the pain he was feeling. It wasn't something Alan wanted to be made known to his dad, but Virgil insisted that as his brother and current medical overseer – their dad must be made aware of the situation.

"We'll get you looked at and get your back pain taken care of. You'll see. It'll all be just fine." Jeff said as he pushed down and out on Alan's back. He smiled sadly as he continued rubbing Alan's back with slow and easy movements. To hear those soft moans and sighs of contentment made him think of a dog getting a belly rub.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Later that night, Scott was carrying Alan down the stairs in a piggy back because moving made Alan's back hurt too much to take more than a couple steps. Nobody could really figure it out and Virgil had checked his books as well as Alan's medical records dating back to when he'd been born and absolutely nothing was known that would be causing such pain in Alan's back. It was really throwing Virgil for a loop.

"Here you go Sprout. Gordon's behind you and he's gonna help lower you down to the couch." Scott said as he accepted Virgil's help to lower as close to the couch as he could so as to lessen the drop from Scott's 6'1" frame. Alan was just barely 5'5' so it'd still be a bit of a drop. That's where Gordon came in. He was going to support Alan's descent to the floor and then ease Alan back onto the couch so he could eat dinner and spend time with the family. They were making the rare exception for everyone including the Belegants and Hackenbackers to eat in the living room. They didn't think it was fair to isolate Alan because he couldn't tolerate eating at the table. They'd done the same thing when Gordon had been hurt, only Jeff gave permission for the boys to eat in the infirmary with their brother when Gordon had to remain in bed with a brace on while his back healed from the surgeries.

"Thanks Scooter." Alan said as he was lowered onto the couch by Gordon. The redhead pulled the ottoman closer so Alan could prop his feet up and boy was it nice? He'd been in bed effectively every day for the last three weeks. At first when he'd gotten hurt at school, he was dismissed from PE to go to the nurse's office and then was taken by the nurse from there back to his room to rest in his bed due to a shortage of infirmary beds. Alan's school had been unfortunate enough to have an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning on campus, so there were a bunch of sick boys in the infirmary when Alan arrived. Alan and Fermat were both sent home after the dean closed the school due to high numbers of absences. It worked in their favor really.

Alan wasn't able to do homework because it was hard to write in bed when it required you to sit up for long periods of time. So Alan was mandated by Virgil to relax and only relax, no trying to walk to the beach or do his daily jogs.

"What's for dinner?" Alan asked as Onaha walked in with a tray that had legs to sit over Alan's.

"Spaghetti and garlic bread." Onaha said as she leaned down to place a tender kiss on Alan's brow. "It's your favorite."

"Thank you Onaha." Alan said with a smile before he began to tuck in. He'd practically finished his plate of dinner when he looked across the room to his dad's recliner where his dad was sitting with his plate resting on his knees. "Hey dad? What time is my appointment on Friday again?"

Jeff held up a finger to signify he needed a minute while he chewed his food. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he was able to answer. "It's Friday, first thing in the morning."

"Ok." Alan said before he gave his dad a small pout.

"What is it son?" Jeff asked as he saw the puppy pout.

"Nothing." Alan denied.

"Alan…" Jeff said as he looked to his youngest child. "What is it?"

"Do you think you could ask your assistant to have the hot tub set up? I know it's in our penthouse, but I'd really like to try to soak in that for a bit to see if that can help."

"Virgil's drawn you up plenty of hot baths since your back's been bothering you though." Jeff said. He couldn't see spending the water on the hot tub for one night. He could understand if it was a few nights…but one night?

"Yeah but it's just. I can't stretch out in the bathtub. I have to stay sitting up, the tub is too short. And it's not very deep." Alan said as he indicated the water only reached to just below his breast bone. Not nearly deep enough to get a good soak.

"He has a good point dad." Gordon said, understanding the issue Alan was having. He could identify with the same issues.

"Alright…I'll contact my secretary and have her start the hot tub on Thursday. Then when we get there, you can go have a soak." Jeff said as he saw the hopeful smile break out on his child's face.

"Thanks dad." Alan said before looking down at Gordon who was sitting on the floor below Alan who was on the couch. Touching his brother lightly on the shoulder, he mouthed 'thank you' to Gordon who mouthed back 'no problem, I've got your back' to which made both boys snicker.

When dinner was finished, and the plates and trays taken to the kitchen to be washed – the family sat around together to watch a movie. Alan was asleep by the time the movie was over and Scott retrieved a blanket and pillow from Alan's room upstairs to make sure Alan was comfy. Gordon pulled the blowup mattress out of the hallway closet and used the hand pump to air it up. Once it was aired up, Gordon grabbed his own bedding. He was intending to sleep in the living room with Alan so someone could help Alan if he needed it to get upstairs should he wake up later in the evening.

The family said their good nights and departed, leaving the aquanaut and their youngest in the same room.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Gordon woke up around three in the morning and couldn't figure out what it was that had woken him. He laid on his air mattress for a few moments in complete silence until he heard it. The springs in the couch groaning. Turning his head slightly, Gordon looked over at the couch where Alan was struggling to sit up. Quickly, Gordon stood to offer a hand to his little brother.

"Thanks Gordo." Alan mumbled under his breath as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"What're you doing up kiddo? It's too early to be up." Gordon said as he double checked his watch before sitting on the couch with Alan. He was tired and wanted to go back to sleep, he didn't have to be up for a few more hours and he'd like to go back to sleep if it was all the same to anyone.

"I can't get comfortable. This couch is killing my back." Alan said as he reached back to rub the middle of his back.

"Come up to my room. You know my bed was recommended by my doctor for my back, maybe it'll help yours." Gordon suggested before helping his brother up to help walk him upstairs. He decided last minute to use the elevator that his dad had installed not long after his accident, when it looked like Gordon would be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of his life.

"Thanks Gordo." Alan said as he was helped upstairs via the elevator. He sighed when they'd reached Gordon's bedroom. Gordon snapped his fingers to turn on the light before helping Alan over to his bed. Once Alan was situated on one side of the bed, Gordon turned to leave but Alan stopped him. "Gordo, your bed is huge. You can sleep on the other side. I don't take up that much room."

"I know you don't, I just wanted to give you room to stretch out." Gordon said before he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's too big. Just sleep on the other side." Alan said before he scooted down to lay down. "It's stupid for you to hurt your back because mine is causing me grief and you gave up your bed."

"You win." Gordon said before taking the other side of the bed and snapping his fingers. The room was plunged into darkness once more and both boys got as comfortable as possible before they went to sleep.

A few hours later, Scott went downstairs and was surprised to see both the couch and the air mattress void of little brothers drooling on their pillows. Growing concerned, he turned and headed back upstairs. He swung Alan's bedroom door open to find his bed empty. Going still for a few minutes, he was prepared to go raise the alarm before it occurred to him to check Gordon's bedroom. Walking down the hall, he pushed the door open lightly and smiled at the sight.

Both Gordon and Alan were in bed. Alan curled up with his knees pulled to his chest while Gordon was spread out starfish style. The eldest pulled the door back closed and tiptoed down the hall. It wasn't long before his dad came down the stairs soon followed by Virgil. Everyone was shocked by the disappearance of both Alan and Gordon, but Scott was able to assuage their concerns.

"Al and Gordo are upstairs sleeping. Looks like Gordon managed to convince Alan to give his mattress a shot." Scott said softly. "They were both sleeping like the dead."

"Good, Alan needs some adequate sleep. Honestly I'm beginning to think he might need a new mattress." Jeff said thoughtfully. He'd gladly spend the extra money to get Alan a bed like Gordon's if that would help and he'd see what he could do to supply both Alan and Fermat with decent mattresses at the school. Those mattresses he'd sat on in the past and they were hard as a rock if he were being honest. He was surprised neither boy had complained of back problems before.

Meanwhile upstairs, Alan had woken up. He pried his eyes open to stare at his big brother who slept across from him. The redhead was still sound asleep himself and that surprised Alan. Normally his brother was one of the first to awaken on the island for his 6am swims – Alan and Fermat dubbed it Gordon's 'greetings to the sun'. He laid in his brother's bed for a short spell just staring at his brother before said brother woke up himself.

"G'morning." Gordon mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes with his knuckles.

"Morning." Alan said as he gave a stretch and was satisfied to find the pain had significantly lessened. He could move without the electric jolts shooting up and down his spine. His rocked his hips from side to side as that was where his pain started was in the small of his back and traveled up.

"How's your back?" Gordon asked as he sat up and gave a stretch filled with satisfying groans and joints popping. "Ahh, that's nice."

"It doesn't hurt." Alan said with a smile.

"Nice." Gordon said before he flipped his blankets back. "Stay in bed while I run to the toilet and when I get back, I'll make sure you don't need help walking."

"Fine." Alan said before Gordon left the room.

When Gordon returned a few minutes later, he stayed close while Alan slowly sat up. Once Alan was sitting, they worked together until Alan was standing. Alan wanted to walk unassisted and he'd insisted Gordon follow him in case his back started causing pain. They went to Alan's room and Gordon lounged in Alan's beanbag chair while Alan took a shower and tried to feel human again. When he'd finished with his shower, they went downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning boys." Jeff said as he read the newspaper. "How's your back Alan?"

"It's good. Stopped hurting." Alan replied.

"That's good son. I'm still taking you to see your pediatrician though. I want to make sure it's nothing concerning, your back pain." Jeff said as he looked up from his newspaper at his youngest. "I could understand if it was one or two days of back pain…but three weeks of nonstop pain and discomfort raises a red flag for me."

"I understand completely dad. I'll pack a bag of overnight clothes and toiletries before we go." Alan said before he sat to eat breakfast at the table with his family.

"Actually, pack for about three or four days. I've got a meeting Monday that'll keep us there until Tuesday." Jeff advised.

"Mmm 'kay Dad." Alan mumbled as he ate his breakfast.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Later that day, Alan was up in his room – albeit moving slowly so as to not aggravate his back. He was packing his backpack with enough clothes to last him until Tuesday morning when they'd be returning from Alan's doctor appointment and Jeff's business meeting. Since they were going to be a few extra days, Alan fully intended on taking advantage of soaking in the hot tub. They didn't have a hot tub on the island, it was far too hot to sit in a tub of heated water for an extended period of time. They had two pools, a small-ish wading pool and an Olympic sized pool. Provided plenty of soaking in cool water, but that wasn't what Alan wanted. He wanted a decent soak in some _hot_ water.

"Knock – knock, can I come in?" Virgil asked as he leaned against the door frame of Alan's bedroom door.

"Sure Virgil, I have my door open – you don't need to ask. Only when it's closed do I prefer you knock." Alan said as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Touché." Virgil responded before he entered Alan's room to sit on the foot of his bed. "So how's you back feeling?"

"It's been better. I'm afraid if I move wrong or turn just the right way I'll be back on the floor unable to breathe because of the pain like I was during the fall that caused this." Alan mumbled.

"Care to tell me how you hurt your back during this…game?" Virgil asked.

"I was one of the chosen 'survivors' that was supposed to escape the Titanic and when I made it to the rescue ship, I jumped off the rolling scooter I was kneeling on and landed wrong." Alan said as he recalled everything, down to the moment he felt he couldn't breathe because the pain had stolen his very breath. "When I jumped from the rolling scooter, the goal was to land on my knees. I put my hands out in front of me to keep me from eating the mat. My hands separated outwards and I landed hard on my chest. The moment I landed, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stand anyone touching me and the coach had to pick me up and carry me like one of those grooms carries his bride. He took me to the infirmary because I couldn't breathe let alone walk. Then the nurse took me to my dorm where they called you guys to come get me."

Alan was more than embarrassed at being carried from the gym class by his coach. But he knew the coach had to move him to get some form of medical attention. He didn't remember actually being carried from class by his teacher – but according to Fermat that was the case. Alan was panting heavily as he struggled to suck in a decent breathe after having the wind knocked out of him from the fall. Fermat worried for his friend and he didn't wait to cut class and run through the shower before he grabbed his and Alan's belongings from the gym locker they shared and sprinting to the infirmary only to discover the nurse had escorted Alan to their dorm. He'd be understandably shook up when he rushed to their dorm to find Alan lying flat in his bed and moaning in pain.

"Okay. Can you describe the pain for me?" Virgil asked as he tried to figure out just how bad Alan's pain had been on a pain scale of 1-10.

"Remember when you were ten years old? We were in the basement at grandma and grandpa's and you thought it was a good idea to plug in some old Christmas lights you'd found in a box?" Alan asked. He remembered, it wasn't but a few years after their mom passed away. Virgil was watching Alan and had gone into the basement to find his old I Can Read books to read to Alan. Instead he'd found a box of Christmas lights of indeterminate age and decided to plug them in. He set Alan on the floor and reached above the metal washing tub their grandma used for soaking clothes in her lye soak. Virgil couldn't quite reach the outlet and had put his hand on the metal wash basin to give himself the boost he needed to reach the outlet.

To cut a long story short, the Christmas lights being plugged in when Virgil was touching the metal basin was a huge mistake. He became a conducting unit for the lights and was unable to remove the plug from the wall nor remove his hand from the metal wash basin. He was stuck because of the current of electricity coursing through his body. He was left shaking uncontrollably and he yelped in pain, thereby making Alan cry. The toddler was frightened by the strange scream that came from Virgil and he'd cried inconsolably. Their grandma had heard Alan crying and she'd heard the yelp from Virgil and hurried down the stairs and cut the breaker to the outlet when she saw that Virgil was being electrocuted. As soon as the electricity quit flowing through him, Virgil dropped to the ground where he simply shook as he tried to gain feeling in his extremities again.

"How could I forget? That hurt so bad. I can't even describe the pain, honestly." Virgil said as he recalled a long forgotten memory. He still found it funny that there were things from Alan's past that he himself couldn't remember but Alan could. Little details that stuck with Alan more than they did with the person experiencing whatever was going on at the time.

"You remember that then? Now you have an idea of the pain I experienced when my back hurt. I've been electrocuted before, I know the same kind of pain and that is the best way I can describe the pain in my back." Alan said as he turned slowly to place a pair of folded boxers in the bottom of his backpack. "Trust me, it hurts something fierce."

"So on a scale of 1 to 10?" Virgil inquired softly.

"I'll say 10 and that's being generous. It doesn't always work for me, rating my pain. Because what I feel is bad and what everyone feels is bad is completely different." Alan said.

"You've done yoga with Scott in the past though haven't you?" Virgil asked, going out on a limb since he could count on one hand that Scott's done yoga.

Alan snorted a laugh before he turned with a raised eyebrow. "Scott doing yoga? Yeah, right…I'll believe it when I see it."

"He's done it a time or two." Virgil offered lamely.

"Scott I wouldn't believe…Tin-Tin though…yes. I've done yoga with her in the past." Alan said with a wry shake of his head.

"Did you back ever hurt during the yoga?" Virgil asked.

"No, it always felt better. For as long as I can remember, my back has always just felt tight. Not painful, just tight. Like I couldn't contort if I tried." Alan replied.

Virgil stayed quiet for a little bit before he observed Alan moving with stilted movements. "Is your back bothering you again?"

"No, I'm just afraid of making it hurt again." Alan admitted.

"Can you relax for me?" Virgil asked as he observed Alan closer. When Alan looked over his shoulder at his brother with a look of incredulity Virgil made a show of what he meant when he slouched and shook out his arms to show he wanted Alan to fully relax and practically go as limp as a noodle. Alan did as his brother instructed and stayed slouched for all of thirty seconds before standing up straight again like he'd been doing before slouching for Virgil.

"Was that uncomfortable?" Virgil asked.

"No, just…I have to stand straight. It feels weird if I'm not." Alan said in reply. He didn't understand it. He'd always stood this way. And no, before anyone asked – his school didn't correct his posture. They could care less if their students slouched or not. As long as they were present for class – that's all that mattered for them.

"Okay, well…I'll leave you to pack your bag. If you begin to feel bad or your back starts acting weird…come let me know." Virgil said before he turned to leave.

"Thanks Virge." Alan said as he turned to wave to his brother.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The following day found Alan and his dad in flight. Alan tried sitting in the cockpit with his dad, but he didn't like the way the seats felt so he moved back into the cabin. He lay on one of the seats and stared at his phone – watching music videos on the internet. Alan was trying to keep his mind off of the appointment the following day. He was growing anxious about his pediatrician's appointment. He wondered what his doctor might find…if anything. On one side of the coin he did want his pediatrician to find something, but on the other side of the same coin…he wanted his pediatrician to not find anything wrong.

He knew he had nothing to worry about. It was a pediatrician he'd been with since he was really little, so he trusted the guy…but he feared whatever his pediatrician had to say. Dr. Jürgen was a funny doctor, making an ass of himself to make his patients laugh and to relax in general.

"Alan, we're on final approach to the landing strip. Buckle your seatbelt." Jeff advised through the open door to the pilot's cabin.

"Okay dad." Alan replied as he sat up correctly and buckled his seatbelt. Once fastened, he called out to his dad that he'd done as asked. "So what are we doing when we land?"

"We're going to go drop off our bags then stop in to the office to visit with a few of my colleagues then we'll go get some dinner." Jeff said from the cockpit, having to raise his voice only slightly to be heard from a distance.

Alan remained silent from his seat and stared out the window. He wondered again on what his doctor would find…if anything. Did he have just a sensitive back? A slipped disc? A bulging disc? Was it an odd sleeping position that made his back sore after healing? Alan wanted to know and he knew he'd need to ask his dad for something that would make him sleep otherwise he'd be crabby tomorrow at the pediatrician's. Heaving a sigh, Alan resorted to crossing his arms and losing himself in thoughts other than his appointment tomorrow.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The next morning, Alan was woken up by his dad gently rubbing his shoulder. He'd asked his dad for the sleeper that knocked him out cold and he felt like he could do with a few more hours of sleep if he was being honest with anyone.

"Wake up son. It's time for you to go get a shower before your appointment." Jeff said gently as he continued rubbing Alan's shoulder.

"More sleep." Alan mumbled as he turned his face back into his pillows.

"Not quite son. You can take a nap later if you're still tired. I wanted to get you seen early enough to avoid the press hounding us. Let's go. It'll be done before you know it." Jeff persisted to which Alan groaned in exasperation at being woken at six in the morning. He wanted sleep. Sleep was more important to him than some appointment. "Wake up Alan. Or else I'll call Gordon."

And that was all it took to make Alan sit up. Gordon would be obnoxious if contacted and he'd probably blow out the speakers in their dad's cell phone if it woke Alan up. Not that that would bother Jeff though. He had the money, he could replace his cell phone if his speakers crapped out because of Gordon's antics.

"Alright, I'm up." Alan mumbled as he proceeded to stand and walk to the bathroom. He yawned as he stood in front of the sink and began to brush his teeth. He took a quick shower to try to wake himself up. He wandered out into the living room and was greeted by his dad who had generously poured him a healthy bowl of cereal. "Thanks dad."

"No problem son. Eat up and we'll get you to the doctors to have your back taken care of." Jeff said as he sat at the breakfast bar drinking coffee and eating a bagel.

"Okay." Alan said as he sat down to eat his breakfast. He tried to do like Virgil said and he slouched while he ate…or he tried to again. He managed a few seconds and then he had to sit up straight. His dad noticed his actions and he briefly catalogued it for when he and Alan met with Alan's pediatrician. He didn't say anything to Alan because he knew from experience as Alan's dad that Alan's often downplayed how bad he felt.

When Alan finished his breakfast almost ten minutes later, Jeff prodded Alan along and got the teen to follow him into the elevator which took them down to the garage. Once they were in the car, Alan leaned to the side and rested his head against the window. He was more than a little tired. He struggled keeping his eyes open for the few minutes into their drive. It wasn't long before they'd pulled up outside the pediatrician's office. Jeff prompted Alan to walk into the clinic. It wasn't long of a wait. Jeff had requested the papers be faxed to him as a means to get them through the wait before the press caught wind of it. He knew they'd need to be in and out otherwise there'd be pictures and Jeff didn't want his son in the media limelight to begin with. For one the paparazzo will spread lies about Alan being abused or ill…some such gobbledygook. That's not to mention, Jeff's parenting would be brought into question. No, Jeff would rather avoid all of that if possible.

The nursing staff subtlety brought Alan and Jeff back into an examination room. And it was about a twenty minute wait before Alan's pediatrician came in. The doctor smiled at his patient and he sat on a rolling stool. He prompted Alan to sit up on the exam table with a wide gesture of his hands.

Once the teen was seated on the exam table, Dr. Jürgen grabbed a tongue depressor and asked Alan to open his mouth and say 'ah'. It was all a formality really. He was aware of Alan's back pain but he had to make sure his patient was well. Once checking Alan's throat and feeling his lymph nodes in his neck, Dr. Jürgen got down to business.

"So, your dad says that you've been having some back pain. Can you explain to me when you really started experiencing the pain?" Dr. Jürgen asked as he grabbed his clipboard and pen to jot down notes.

"Uh…probably about three weeks ago. I got hurt at school. We were playing a game called Titanic." Alan said softly as he hung his head as if he'd get in trouble for being a kid.

"What is this Titanic game? Is it a contact sport?" Dr. Jürgen asked.

"Titanic is a game that uses giant mats, ropes and rolling scooters. The giant mats are supposed to be the Titanic and life rafts and rescue ship. It's not a contact sport. I was one of the chosen 'survivors' that was supposed to escape the Titanic and when I made it to the rescue ship, I jumped off the rolling scooter I was kneeling on and landed wrong." Alan iterated to his doctor.

"Okay, so it's just a game that really involves no contact with people?" Dr. Jürgen asked as he noticed Jeff paying close attention to everything Alan said.

"Exactly. When I jumped from the rolling scooter, the goal was to land on my knees. I put my hands out in front of me to keep me from eating the mat. My hands separated outwards…" Alan held his hands out in front of him and gave a brief demonstration of how he remembered falling before carrying on with his explanation. "And I landed hard on my chest. The moment I landed, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't stand anyone touching me and the coach had to pick me up after a bit and carry me like one of those grooms carries his bride. He took me to the infirmary because I couldn't breathe let alone walk. Then the nurse took me to my dorm where they called my family to get me."

Dr. Jürgen studied Alan for a few moments before he set his clipboard and pen on the counter and stood up. "Alright Alan, can you remove your shirt for me and bend over, keeping your knees as straight as possible and try to touch your toes?"

Alan kind of looked to his doctor skeptically before he did as his doctor asked when Jeff nodded mutedly at Alan. The teen removed his shirt and did as the doctor requested. He tried not to hold his breath as he felt Dr. Jürgen place his fingertips to the small of his back just above the waist of his pants. Dr. Jürgen pressed lightly on Alan's back before he started sliding his fingers up Alan's back. He was feeling for abnormalities in Alan's back that might warrant an X-ray or an MRI. He focused closely on the feel of Alan's back before running his fingers back down Alan's back. He sat on his stool and looked closely at Alan's back looking for what…neither Alan nor Jeff really knew.

"Hmm." Dr. Jürgen hummed before he told Alan he could stand back up and put his shirt back on. He wrote notes on his clipboard for a few moments before he looked up at Jeff. "I want to have Alan go in for an X-Ray. I don't mean to cause alarm, but I felt Alan's spine and it felt off. I have my suspicion, but I'd like to confirm it with further testing before I prescribe treatment."

"What…what do you feel is wrong with his back?" Jeff asked somewhat alarmed.

"I don't want to cause alarm, but I felt an odd curvature in Alan's back. It might be nothing, but I'd like to have it checked out. It might be the source of Alan's back pain." Dr. Jürgen said as he indicated his notes.

"What kind of treatment is there for Alan if this curvature…is something to be concerned with?" Jeff asked as he saw the desolate look on Alan's face at the mention of something being wrong with him.

"Well, if it's what I'm thinking it is, it could range from mild to where Alan doesn't need but maybe a brace to correct the curve in his back or it can be moderate to severe and he may require corrective surgery. But that's a last ditch effort if it's what I'm thinking." Dr. Jürgen said.

"And what could it be if it is what you're thinking?" Jeff asked, wracking his brain for any mentions in his of his late wife's family history of odd curvatures in their backs. He knew his great-great uncle had polio when he was little but that didn't cause an odd curvature in the spine. It affected the spinal cord and caused muscle wasting and muscle paralysis.

"If it is what I'm thinking it could be scoliosis." Dr. Jürgen admitted and he and Jeff both noticed Alan's face pale. "I'm not saying it is…but I'm saying it could be."

"What is scoliosis? What does it do exactly?" Alan asked. He'd heard the word scoliosis before but he had no idea what it really was. He really should have paid better attention in his health class.

"Scoliosis is a musculoskeletal disorder which causes your spine which is supposed to be straight or vertical to curve to the side. Almost reminiscent to an S or a forward facing and even a backwards facing C depending on the severity. Mild forms of scoliosis can easily be treated with a brace which force the back bone to straighten although not fully, but it prevents the spine from curving sharply to the side. More severe forms may require surgical intervention because the curvature can cause you to develop a degenerative scoliosis later in life. But that's nothing you really need to worry about right now. We'll get you scheduled for an X-ray and have your back scanned…but I did have a question for both you and your dad."

"Yes, what is it?" Jeff asked as he spoke for both himself and Alan.

"Have you experienced a growth spurt yet?" Dr. Jürgen asked as he directed his question at Alan. He furrowed his brow when Alan shook his head twice in the negative. "Let me go get the number from my secretary for the hospital across the street to see if they can't get you and Alan in for a scan. Be right back."

Alan sat in silence until his doctor pulled the door closed. He started having a mini meltdown when he was left alone with his dad and Jeff was left to dole damage control.

"You're gonna be fine Alan. Don't panic, it's probably nothing." Jeff said in attempt to make Alan feel better.

"I don't want to have a disease." Alan whispered roughly around the time the door swung open after a brief knock. Dr. Jürgen heard Alan's worries and he corrected them.

"Scoliosis isn't in the disease category…it's a musculoskeletal disorder. It can be congenital or something that makes itself known at any time in a person's life. It's usually caught in school screenings or physicals like when students want to try out for sports. Most often caught just before or just after a growth spurt because of the rapid growth." Dr. Jürgen said as he offered the business card to Jeff with a phone number written on it. "This is the number to the front desk at the hospital. Give them a call and let them know you want to schedule an appointment for an X-ray. Let them know it's a referral from Dr. Jürgen and they'll work with you."

Jeff took the card in his hand and nodded at the pediatrician. He greatly appreciated the gesture and as much as he didn't want to contact the X-ray department – he knew he'd be doing a disservice to Alan. His son needed to have his back looked at to make sure everything was okay.

"Come on Alan, let's go back to the penthouse." Jeff said with a nod of his head at the pediatrician. "Thank you doctor. We'll be in touch."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan sat up to his shoulders in the hot tub. He could hear his dad talking in the living room on the phone and he was feeling anxious. He knew his dad was talking to the hospital, booking an appointment to have Alan seen to. He was afraid of what might be found. The voice of his pediatrician kept echoing in the deep recesses of his head. He might have scoliosis and there could be severities. Alan didn't want to be made any more different than his brothers. None of his brothers had problems that were their bodies refusing to move a certain way. Sure Gordon had physical limitations now, but that was because he'd been injured in an accident. It wasn't his body simply refusing to comply.

A knock on the door, made Alan look towards the opening. His dad opened the door and came in to sit on the edge of the hot tub. "I got you an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. We'll need to be there about noon and we need to get you checked in."

"Thanks dad." Alan said before he sunk down a little lower into the boiling hot water. Sweat beaded his brow and Alan didn't care that he looked like a five-year-old hiding under his blankets to avoid the boogie man living under his bed. He was scared.

"What is it Alan?" Jeff asked, knowing that Alan was acting different.

"Nothing dad." Alan lied. He didn't want to talk about it.

"Alan, it's okay if you're scared. I am too." Jeff admitted.

"Dad, you're not in this body. I don't want a disease or a musculoskeletal disorder or whatever it is that's screwing with my body. I just want to be normal. I probably can't play sports now. No girl is ever going to love me, not with my back screwing me up." Alan said emphatically.

"Alan…as for girls, whoever you meet will love you how you are. Whether you have a problem with your back or you don't. And you are normal. Just because you might or might not have scoliosis doesn't mean you're less normal. It just means you are human. Humans…everyone has issues. Everyone has something about their bodies that they don't like or wish they could change. And you're entitled to that. It's your body. But you can't run from it. It's something you will have to face eventually." Jeff said. He knew for certain that Alan was more than afraid for what the future held for him. "Don't stay in the hot tub too long. You need to be in bed at a decent time tonight."

"Thanks dad." Alan said with a sigh before he sat up and reached out of the tub to grab his towel. When he stood up, he wrapped his towel around his waist before he climbed from the interior of the hot tub. He walked over to the full length mirror and grabbed a little hand mirror before he turned around to look at the reflection of his back. He was trying to see whatever might be wrong with his back and he couldn't see it…to be honest.

Growing frustrated with the mirror not showing him what might be wrong with his back, Alan sighed before he went to change into his pajamas. He sighed once more as he walked into the kitchen to grab a drink of water before bed. He walked through the living room and trailed his fingers across his dad's shoulder to get his attention.

"Can you wake me when you get up in the morning? I want to take a shower before my appointment." Alan asked when his dad muted the news station he was watching in favor of paying attention to his son. The patriarch looked up and saw the worried look on Alan's face.

"I can…before you go to bed though. Let me give you a sleeper again. I don't think you'll sleep with as worried as you are." Jeff said before he stood and gestured for Alan to follow him to his room. When they got to Jeff's room, he retrieved the bottle of over the counter sleeping pills before he shook one out into his palm to give to his son. Once Alan swallowed the pill, he gave his dad a quick hug before he turned to go to his bedroom.

"Thanks…night dad." Alan said before he closed his bedroom door.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The following morning, Jeff set a plate of freshly made pancakes and a glass of orange juice on the counter before he left to wake Alan. He wanted to make Alan one of his favorite meals for breakfast and he tried to follow the recipe as his mom made them when he was a boy himself. Alan always loved his grandma's pancakes, it occurred to Jeff he'd need to contact his mom with updates about Alan's back. When he'd talked to his mom last, she'd insisted on coming to the island to care for Alan and Jeff refused – albeit gently. It wasn't that he didn't want his mom coming to care for her grandson, it was that she was in her seventies and she didn't need to be running from pillar to post taking care of Alan's every whim. He had brothers that could help him when necessary and he had everyone for that matter that lived on the island.

Jeff knocked on the door softly before he opened Alan's bedroom door and peered inside to glimpse his son. He smiled at the posture Alan slept in. He never was a still sleeper, often moving around in his sleep. Right now and like so many times as a young child – Alan's head had traveled from the head of the bed down to the foot of the bed. Alan was curled up on his side, still very much sound asleep. Jeff shook his head in amusement before he went to the foot of the bed and shook Alan's shoulder softly. Alan grunted but stayed asleep and every attempt made just made Jeff have to get creative. As a last ditch effort before he went to get a glass of cold water to splash in Alan's face, he targeted Alan's toes.

Those little tootsies always were a ticklish weakness of Alan's ever since he was a baby. Looking around, Jeff located Alan's foot and proceeded to lightly run his fingers under the sole of Alan's feet. He pulled his foot away in his sleep and grunted again, but Jeff continued. When it seemed unlikely that Alan would wake up, Jeff started the piggy game.

"This little piggy went to the market…this little piggy stayed home…this little piggy had roast beef." Jeff started. He smiled when Alan came awake with a gasp but Jeff wasn't gonna stop now. "This little piggy had none and this little piggy…"

"No dad no! Not my toes!" Alan tried to pull away from having his feet tickled but Jeff grasped Alan's leg in one hand and continued his assault on Alan's toes.

"Cried wee, wee, wee all the way home." Jeff said with a snort of laughter at Alan's struggles to pull away. Alan was laughing even as he pulled away and Jeff was laughing as he pulled Alan closer, intention to tickle Alan until he begged uncle.

"No! dad! No!" Alan cried with tears of laughter threatening to spill over. "I'm up dad, I swear to god I'm up now!"

"I know, but this is too much fun." Jeff said as he pulled Alan against him and continued to tickle only this time targeting Alan's ribs.

"No dad! I'll pee my pants if you don't stop!" Alan begged as he continued to break from his dad's hold and get away from the tickles.

"Then you better run for the shower before your breakfast gets cold." Jeff said as he gave Alan a few seconds head start. Alan practically flew from his bed and into the bathroom, where Jeff had already laid out an outfit for Alan to wear to the doctor's office. He chuckled softly at his and Alan's antics. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed doing that to his boys until just now and it wasn't something he'd soon forget. He considered it a good way to wake up to…laughter and smiling faces. They'd no doubt be needing the cheerful attitudes if the news from the x-ray tech revealed something that needed treatment. Sighing softly to himself, Jeff placed his hands on his knees before he pushed up and left Alan's room.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan held his breath as he lay on the x-ray table. There was a large arm like attachment that the x-ray technician was manipulating to place to correctly x-ray Alan's back. He felt cold, he'd had to undress and don a hospital gown for the experience. And he knew he'd never tease Gordon for the gown he practically lived in for almost a year following his accident. He couldn't move his legs for the longest time let alone sit up without assistance and he adamantly refused help with getting dressed, feeling embarrassed that he couldn't do things for himself. So he chose to wear a gown until he'd been discharged back home at which time he would only allow Alan in to help him dress since the boy was twelve going on thirteen at the time and knew how to remain sympathetic to his brother's plight.

"Alright Alan, I'm going to step out of the room and I want you to try to hold as still as possible. After I take a picture of your anterior, I'll have you move onto your side followed by your back for a posterior x-ray. I want to be sure of what we're dealing with." The technician said as he turned to leave. The x-ray machine when initiated, started making a low humming sound. It wasn't loud by any means, but the hum was disconcerting for Alan. When the humming stopped after a minute, the technician walked in and helped Alan onto his side so that his back was facing the window which the x-ray technician stayed behind. Alan held perfectly still once more as the humming began for another minute.

After a little bit, Alan was finally allowed to get up from the table he'd been laying on. He sat up for a moment, feeling like the hair on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on edge. The technician helped him down from the x-ray table and the nurse that walked with Alan to the x-ray department went back with Alan. Upon entering the room, once the nurse left Alan started putting his clothes back on. He ignored his dad in favor of tugging the jeans he'd been wearing on and turning to talk to his dad as he buttoned and zipped his jeans back up.

"When do you think we'll know the results of my x-rays?" Alan asked.

"Probably later today or early tomorrow. We'll wait until the doctor that initially saw you comes back in to speak with us before we head back to the pent house and relax. Maybe we'll go rent a few movies and get a pizza for dinner." Jeff said softly as he motioned with his head to his son to sit in the seat beside him.

Alan did as his dad indicated and once seated didn't bother to hide his desire for comfort. He went from sitting up straight to slumped over and leaning into his dad's side. Jeff wrapped a strong arm around Alan and held his son close. They sat in silence for a long time, it made them both wonder if it'd been years until the doctor reentered the room. They both looked up at the look of barely disguised pity and sympathy. As soon as Alan saw the look on his face, his mind started jumping to all sorts of conclusions.

When the doctor sat in front of him, Alan looked up with sorrow. The doctor offered a smile, but Alan could see that it wasn't a happy smile, not a 'you're fine, it's nothing to worry about smile'…instead it was a 'I'm sorry, I've got bad news smile' and Alan didn't want to hear it.

"Hello gentlemen. I come with the results of Alan's x-rays." The physician said softly as he held out the folder which contained those x-rays. "You want the bad news or the good news first?"

Alan didn't feel brave enough to speak and he bowed his head, gazing straight at his feet. His dad spoke up for the both of them.

"How about the bad news?" Jeff asked, he'd rather hear the bad news first and use the good news for comfort.

"Well, the bad news is that Alan does in fact have scoliosis. And based on the x-rays I'd consider it to be something moderate to severe, not mild as I'd have liked to see." The doctor said as he stood up to put the x-rays on the light board to show Alan and Jeff the x-ray pictures taken of Alan's back. "As you can see, Alan's spine curves pretty dramatically to the right then left in what would appear to be a S shape. The doctor traced his finger along the picture of Alan's spine starting from the small of his back up to just between his shoulder blades. "Now I'm not an orthopedist, but I've seen many cases come through those doors and patients with a moderate to severe scoliosis can't have the brace that prevents the spine from curving further. It simply won't work. Every moderate to severe case I've ever seen has had to have a corrective surgery done to amend the spine and stop the curve."

Alan buried his head into his hands when the mention of surgery was broached. He didn't want surgery.

"Okay, and the good news?" Jeff asked as he placed a hand on Alan's back and rubbed comfortingly.

"The corrective surgery done is fairly successful if that's a path you decide to pursue." The physician said before he turned to the computer in the room and started clacking away on the keys. "The information I'm printing out is contact information for all the local orthopedic surgeons in the area, I'd highly recommend the top three, they work most with children and adolescence. They're at the children's hospital across town."

Jeff and Alan both went silent at the mentions of referrals. Alan was in a state of shock. He knew his back was hurting him these last three weeks, but he never thought it would lead to a diagnoses of scoliosis. Wasn't he too young to have back problems? He was only fourteen. Shouldn't he not have back problems until he'd turned sixty-five and wore his pants up under his armpits?

Once they'd been given the paper with the lists of orthopedic surgeons, Jeff and Alan stood to leave. Jeff shook hands with the doctor and when it came time for Alan to shake hands with the doctor, he kept his hands to himself. He gripped the sides of his t-shirt, suddenly wishing he had his hoodie from Wharton to hide under. Jeff led Alan from the exam room and waved at the receptionist as they walked past.

Once in the car, Alan bit his lip and turned his face into the window. His dad tried more than twice to engage Alan in conversation, but Alan wasn't talking. He remained silent through the whole car trip back to Tracy Enterprises. He barely waited for the car to park in the parking garage before he jumped from the interior of the car. He didn't stop when his dad called for him and he didn't stop running until he'd made it into the elevator, hitting the top button for the top floor. He punched in the code to get into the penthouse and once in the penthouse, Alan fled to his room and locked the door before collapsing in tears on his bed.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff paced back and forth on the balcony as he spoke into his cell phone.

"I don't know Scott, your brother was devastated. He still won't unlock the door for me and he skipped dinner last night. All he's done is cry and if by the crashing coming from there about an hour ago throw a tantrum of epic proportions. He's not happy with the diagnoses of scoliosis." Jeff admitted as he looked in through the window to see Alan's bedroom door was still closed.

"Well, I wouldn't be either. I can't blame him for being upset." Scott replied sympathetically. "Is the doctor sure it's scoliosis?"

Gordon and Virgil who were sitting in the living room, Gordon playing Resident Evil 4 had unintentionally killed his character after hearing scoliosis be mentioned. Virgil had been working on composing a song and hit a sour note on the piano at the mentions of scoliosis. The living room had fallen silent. Fermat and Tin-Tin walked past the living room, waved and continued on their merry way – not even aware of Alan's diagnosis.

"Yeah, the doctor is pretty sure. He showed us the x-rays and I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. Alan's spine curves from side to side like an S. I don't know how long he's had scoliosis, his sports physical for basketball didn't turn up with anything. I just can't believe they'd miss something like that."

Virgil gestured for Scott to put their dad on speaker phone, but Scott shook his head – mouthing that their dad was going to call the surgeon.

"Okay, well give me another call if you can't get Alan to come out and I'll see if I can get Parker to come pick me up and bring me to the penthouse. He's got to open the door sometime." Scott said before he said his good bye to his dad, sending messages of love to both their dad and baby brother from Gordon and Virgil. When he hung up, Scott blew out a deep breath.

"So the doc thinks Alan has scoliosis?" Virgil barely waited a beat before he was asking about the mentions of scoliosis.

"Well, according to dad the physician showed them Alan's x-rays and Alan certainly has scoliosis. Said the picture shows Alan's spine curving from side to side like an S." Scott repeated back to his brothers. "How did we not see it?"

"I don't know…you'd think with as much as we pat Alan on the back or hug him that we'd have noticed Alan's back curving to the side like that." Gordon said in self-reprimand.

"Well, regardless whatever the surgeon says in regards to Alan's diagnosis. We are still family and family is always there for each other." Virgil said as he tried to speak positively.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan meanwhile had taken to laying on his bed, wallowing in self-pity and begging God to reverse the scoliosis, promising he'd stop playing pranks on his brothers and would begin getting straight A's, if he didn't have scoliosis any longer. He didn't want to be labeled a cripple or a gimp because of something that he had no control over. He didn't want to be seen as disabled or having anything physically wrong with him. He'd donned a pair of sweatpants and the giant Air Force hoodie he'd borrowed from Scott and had curled up under his blankets. He'd already cried for a long time and had become angry and practically destroyed his bedroom. Once he'd calmed down some, Alan had cleaned up his destruction before laying down and holing away. He didn't have a desire to eat, so he'd skipped every meal since last night and it was coming up on dinner this night. He felt a little hungry, but he doubted it'd stay down with how bad he felt.

He ignored his dad when he'd knocked and asked to be let in. Choosing to remain silent instead. Jeff's voice was muffled even as he told Alan he loved him and having a physical condition wouldn't change that. Alan had a bit of a struggle with swallowing as he felt a knot lodge itself in his throat. He didn't have any more tears to shed, but that still didn't stop his body from making his shoulders shake with soft sobs.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff sighed as he called the surgeon's office with intention to make an appointment hopefully for this week for Alan to be seen. He didn't doubt he'd have to drag Alan in kicking and screaming, but he wanted Alan to be seen and to hopefully get the treatment necessary in order to correct the scoliosis.

He talked with the receptionist, told her who he was and that he'd like to get an appointment made for his son. He looked at the paper the physician at the hospital had given him. "Can I get an appointment with Dr. Guther? I'd like her to take a look at my son's case."

"Dr. Guther doesn't have an availability until Wednesday afternoon at three PM. Will that be okay?" The receptionist said as she prepared to put Alan into Dr. Guther's appointment book.

"That'll be fine. Thank you ma'am." Jeff said as he hung up with the receptionist. He was getting ready to go try to talk to Alan again in hopes that he'd open his door for him. If not, he was definitely going to call Scott because the oldest son had a special sort of relationship with his baby brother. Pocketing his cell phone, Jeff looked toward Alans door. He was hoping Alan would come out.

Approaching the door, Jeff was raising a fist to knock when suddenly the door opened and Jeff was face to face with his youngest son. Alan's face was puffy from crying and his eyes were red and swollen. As soon as Alan saw his dad his face crumpled and Alan started to shut the door on his dad. Jeff pushed past the door and enveloped Alan in a tight hug as a means of comfort. His child was distraught and Jeff wished more than anything that he could take this from Alan on himself so he wouldn't have to experience this pain.

"Ssh. It's okay Alan, we'll get through this. It's okay. Ssh." Jeff said softly as he struggled to console Alan.

"But…" Alan started to argue, but his dad silenced the argument with a finger to Alan's lips.

"No. It's going to be okay. " Jeff repeated before leading Alan from his bedroom and out to the living room. He directed them to the couch and eased them both down. Alan leaned against his dad and practically sat in his dad's lap. "I've made an appointment for Wednesday so you can see the orthopedic surgeon, get a better look at your diagnosis. In the meantime though, we're just going to kick back and relax."

"What about your meeting on Monday?" Alan whispered.

"I've sent out an email rescheduling it for another time. I said I had a family thing that needed my attention more." Jeff said before pulling Alan closer so that his head was resting on his chest. "You're more important than work. I'll see that you're seen to first before business."

Alan was touched, really he was but he couldn't even begin to wonder what he and his dad would do considering today was a Saturday and his appointment was a Wednesday. They'd sat together on the couch for a while longer before Alan felt like he was falling asleep. He hadn't slept much considering he'd been so upset the night prior. He was comfortable leaning against his dad, legs stretched across his dad's legs. Jeff braced an arm behind Alan's head and gently rubbed the back of his neck and effectively knocked Alan out for a few hours. Sure it was late and Alan needed to eat, but Jeff would order in some Chinese and run out to rent a movie or two before waking his son.

Once Alan was asleep, Jeff gently shifted Alan so that he could get up without waking the fourteen-year-old. He made sure he had his wallet and keys before he locked the penthouse door and got in the elevator. He'd surprise Alan with his favorites and some ice cream since Alan's weakness was hot fudge sundae. He sent a prayer to his late wife and to any God that was out there that might hear his prayer. He hoped the scoliosis was something easily fixed and wouldn't prevent Alan from continuing living his life as normally as possible.

He first drove to the video store. Sure it was out of the norm for himself the "famed Jeff Tracy" to be seen in such a small, no name location that wasn't ivy league, but the movies he wanted to get were some of Alan's favorites and Jeff knew they weren't available digitally. So video store was the next best thing. Jeff had an account there still so Alan could rent movies when he was visiting with his brothers.

Once inside, Jeff began to peruse the movies. He selected the movies he knew Alan would love and a few neither of them had seen yet. He'd read the synopsis of the films on the back of the boxes before he selected the tags to take to the front counter. It was enough movies to last them a few days. He went up and smiled at the clerk as she began to gather the movies he'd selected and he paid for his rentals with an easy going smile. He was a man of little words since the clerk hadn't seemed to recognize him any.

Once he'd left the video store, he drove down to a little Chinese restaurant. He went in the authentic shop and offered a greeting to the hostess when she asked if he wanted a table or booth. He shook his head and simply gestured to the menu. She handed him a to go menu and Jeff began looking through it. When he'd made his decision, he approached the woman at the counter and placed his order. It would be a few minutes wait, but he offered a generous tip to the hostess for expediting his order. He'd ordered from this place a number of times, considering it was close enough to his work and their food was amazing. She knew who he was and knew he preferred keeping a low profile.

Hurrying back to the penthouse, Jeff made what he hoped was a quiet entrance. He unloaded the food on the kitchen counter and set the movies down before it occurred to him he'd forgotten ice cream. He chewed on his lip before pulling out his phone to call his secretary.

"Hello Mr. Tracy, how can I help you?" And Jeff rolled his eyes at the formal greeting.

"Matilda, you know you can call me Jeff right?" Jeff asked as he addressed Matilda his secretary.

"Yes, I know that. Is this a business call or something of a personal nature?" Matilda asked since she was sometimes Jeff's secretary and other times his confidante.

"I need to know if you've left the building yet?" Jeff asked knowing Matilda usually worked late nights. It was getting late, now but Matilda had a habit of working until eight or nine at night.

"I haven't yet. I'm still downstairs." Matilda replied as she checked the clock on her computer.

"Can you run to the store for me and get the ingredients for hot fudge sundae? Alan kind of received some bad news from the doctor these last few days and he's in a funk. I went out and got movies and dinner, but I forgot to get his favorite comfort food. If you come upstairs I'll give you some money to get everything on my list to make up Alan's sundae."

"I can do that Jeff. I'll be up in ten minutes." Matilda said.

"Okay, and when you come up just come in. Don't knock or ring the bell – Alan's asleep on the couch and I don't want to wake him." Jeff said as he looked across the room to see Alan was still out cold. He needed the sleep after all.

"Yes, and I'm on my way up now. Just getting into the elevator." Matilda said before she and Jeff said their partings and hung up. When Matilda made it to the front door, Jeff was expecting her and he opened the door and gave her the list and money. She told him it'd be roughly twenty minutes before she returned and Jeff took that time to go call Scott back.

"Hey Scott." Jeff spoke softly as he stepped out onto the balcony like earlier.

"Hey dad…you get Alan to come out?" Scott inquired.

"Yeah, when I got off the phone with you I tried again before I called Dr. Guther and made an appointment with her. After I got off the phone with Dr. Guther's secretary I went back and Alan came out. He's sleeping on the couch right now." Jeff relayed.

"Kid didn't sleep much last night did he?" Scott asked from back on the island. He'd stood up from the deck outside on the patio and wandered to the edge of the porch that overlook the pools. He could see Fermat and Tin-Tin swimming with Gordon and Virgil. They hadn't been told yet of Alan's diagnosis. It wasn't anyone's news to tell except for Alan's.

"No, honestly I think he cried all night. His face and eyes were swollen and puffy and he looked downright miserable. I don't think I've ever seen him so upset, at least not since your mother passed away and even then he was far too young to really remember her." Jeff said sympathetically.

"Poor kid…can't he ever catch a break?" Scott asked.

"I don't know…I re-scheduled my work meetings to spend time with your brother. Make him feel better, you know? I rented a couple movies, got his favorites from that little Chinese restaurant we like and Matilda is running to the store for me to get the ingredients so I can fix Alan a hot fudge sundae after dinner." Jeff said as he looked in the window to see Alan was still asleep. "I hope the surgeon brings good news for him come Wednesday."

"That makes two of us." Scott replied softly.

It wasn't much longer until Jeff saw his door swing open in the front entry. He told Scott that Matilda had returned with the ice cream for Alan and he hung up to go greet his secretary. She turned from putting the ice cream in the freezer when Jeff came in from the balcony. She folded her re-usable bag quietly before going forward to hug her friend and employer.

"He'll be fine Jeff. Teenagers can bounce back from anything." Matilda whispered before they both noticed Alan stirring. Matilda kissed Jeff on the cheek before letting herself out of the penthouse right when Alan woke up. The blond teen gave a great big yawn and stretched before he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Evening Alan, you hungry? I got your favorites." Jeff said as he grabbed the little box of Chinese food and cracked the lid to see it was the chow mein like Alan liked. Grabbing some chopsticks and the cup of soda, Jeff went and placed them in front of Alan on the coffee table.

"I guess." Alan replied somberly.

"Well, why don't you get comfy and pick out a movie for us to watch while I grab my dinner also." Jeff said as he walked back over with the stack of movies for Alan to pick through.

"Okay." Alan said before he looked through the movies and picked out Ghost Ship, it wasn't a great movie to watch but he liked it. His dad never cared much for the nudity in the film, but because it was just a quick shot of a woman's bare chest then she was covered his dad didn't object much. John who was big into mythological and supernatural creatures pointed out that she wasn't only a ghost but she could be a siren. She had the voice of an angel and used it to lure a man to his death. "I thought you didn't like me watching this movie."

"I'll make an exception. I didn't like you watching this with your brothers when you were nine, but you're older now." Jeff said before he made a third trip back to the kitchen to grab his own meal container.

"I'm gonna run to the bathroom then we can sit down and watch this movie and eat. I'm starving." Alan said as he stood to go to the bathroom. After hearing the door click shut, Jeff went about turning on the television and putting on the movie, skipping the previews to get to the menu. Hearing the toilet flush faintly, Jeff grabbed a seat on the couch and waited for Alan to return. "Okay, now I can sit through a movie."

Jeff let Alan get comfortable on the couch with his dinner before he selected play. They both settled in to eat and watch the gruesome movie. Casting furtive glances at Alan every so often, Jeff noticed Alan barely took his eyes off the screen. His eyes were wide as he watched the movie, holding the box of food close to minimize spillage. Once they were done with their dinner and Alan was leaned back against the couch, patting his full and obviously distended stomach.

"Okay, now I'm sure I'm gonna go into a food coma by the end of the movie." Alan groaned. He ate too much and though he didn't feel sick he knew he'd pop if he ate another bite of anything.

"Here's your fortune cookie." Jeff said as he was preparing to unwrap his own. He smiled at Alan when the teen gave him a look of exasperation. "It's got baking soda in it, it'll help you burp."

"I've burped enough." Alan replied with a roll of his eyes.

"Just open your cookie, you don't have to eat it now." Jeff said as he opened his cookie and read his fortune. "Whatever your goal is in life, embrace it, visualize it and it will be yours."

Alan looked dubiously at his fortune cookie before he opened it. He scoffed when he read it but didn't try to read it aloud like his dad did his.

"What's yours say son?" Jeff asked as he chewed up a piece of a fortune cookie.

"It doesn't matter." Alan tried to down play.

"Come on son, just read it for your old man." Jeff said as he put an arm around Alan's shoulders and gave his shoulders a squeeze.

"Fine." Alan replied before he lifted his fortune to read it out loud. "Change can hurt, but it leads a path to something better."

Jeff and Alan continued on with watching Ghost Ship until it'd ended and Alan was getting ready for bed. He went to take a shower and was surprised when he came out of the bathroom to find his dad sitting on his bed holding a bowl of ice cream.

"Dad?" Alan asked as he walked over to his dad and accepted the bowl of ice cream when his dad gave it to him. "What is this?"

"I know your grandma and Onaha doesn't let you have hot fudge sundaes very often. So I figured I'd fix you a hot fudge sundae, just like how your momma liked it when she was pregnant with you." Jeff said with an easy smile despite mentioning his late wife.

"But dad." Alan said before he sat down beside his dad to look at the bowl of triple scoop ice cream that had been decorated with hot fudge, chopped nuts, whipped cream, sprinkles and a maraschino cherry on top. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me son." Jeff said as he hugged his son. "Just enjoy your ice cream."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Later that week, after Alan had without a doubt gained five pounds or more thanks to junk food – he and his dad entered the orthopedic center to meet with Dr. Guther.

"I'm scared." Alan said softly as he and his dad sat side by side - a clipboard held in his dad's hand as the patriarch filled in the necessary information about Alan.

"It's okay to be scared son." Jeff said as he filled in the information.

"Will you come in with me?" Alan asked as he stayed close to his dad. It was quiet in the center. It was like they had to whisper despite there being nobody around.

"I'll go in as far as they'll let me son." Jeff said before he clamped a strong hand on Alan's knee before going forward to turn in the information to the receptionist.

They sat side by side for what felt like hours and Alan was growing more and more anxious. He was jiggling his leg and his sneakers were squeaking against the linoleum. He had taken to biting on his thumb nail and Jeff was steadily growing annoyed with the constant bite and chew sound Alan was making against his thumb nail and he reached out to take Alan's hand in his to prevent Alan from biting. This was the fifth time Jeff had told Alan to stop biting his nail and Alan would start back up the longer they waited. He hoped they wouldn't have to wait much longer.

"Alan?" A nurse asked as she came around the corner. When Alan and Jeff looked up she motioned with her head. "The doctor will see you now."

Jeff and Alan both stood to go and follow the nurse. She led them through a series of hallways before bringing them into an exam room. The nurse told Alan to hop up on the exam table, smiling at him as she placed the blood pressure cuff around his bicep. "Take a nice deep breath for me."

Alan did as the nurse said while she pumped up the cuff and he focused on his dad during the vital checks.

"Your blood pressure is a little elevated." The nurse commented as she removed the blood pressure cuff to fold it and replace it on the wall where it'd originally been hanging. She turned to look at Alan and smiled at him. "Nervous?"

"A lot." Alan said before he bit his lip and began jiggling his foot as it dangled from the exam table.

"It'll be okay. Now, I'm going to go get the doctor. She'll be right with you." The nurse said as she patted Alan on the knee and left the room to go get the doctor.

Alan and Jeff waited for a few more minutes until Dr. Guther knocked before she entered. She was an older woman, about Jeff's age if not a little older. She introduced herself to Alan and Jeff, shaking their hands with a positive smile adorning her features.

"Pleasure to meet you gentlemen." Dr. Guther said before she sat on the rolling stool. She rolled over to the counter, folder in hand before she opened it to peruse the notes and other documents. "I see your pediatrician Dr. Jürgen recommended you get a spinal x-ray. Hmm."

Alan and Jeff stayed silent as Dr. Guther looked over everything. When Dr. Guther removed the x-ray film from the folder, she placed them on the light board to illuminate. Alan felt sick the moment he saw the films of his own traitorous spine.

"According to the physician and the radiologist at the hospital the curves in your spine measures approximately sixty degrees in your thoracic region and thirty degrees in your lumbar. That's a pretty drastic curve." Dr. Guther stated plainly. "I'm not going to lie; a back brace will do nothing but prevent further deterioration. In cases with patients that have this severe of scoliosis, I have only one option and that's surgery. "

Alan felt like the wind had been knocked out of him and the blood washed out of his face so he was a sickly pale. He sat in silence as his dad talked with Dr. Guther. Everything his dad and Dr. Guther said sounded distant, like the teacher sounded to the kids in the Peanuts skits. He felt like he couldn't get a good breath and the next thing he knew his dad was pressing gently against the back of his neck in order to lower his head between his knees and reassuring him while instructing Alan to breathe.

"Easy son, we don't need you having another panic attack. Deep breath in and out. In and out." Jeff breathed with Alan to make sure he was breathing as he should. "Good. Keep breathing, nice and deep."

Once his dad and Dr. Guther brought Alan out of his panic attack, they helped Alan to lay down so he wouldn't fall down. That was what clued them in that Alan was having a panic attack. Alan curled up on his side, bringing his knees to his chest.

"You're okay Alan." Jeff murmured.

"Surgery really isn't that bad Alan. You're in good hands." Dr. Guther said as she leaned in, placing her elbows against her knees. "I'll fix you up good as new."

Alan tuned out after that, letting his dad and Dr. Guther talk more about Alan's condition and how it could be treated. Alan heard bits and pieces of it, but certainly not enough to really explain in great detail. He knew from hearing Dr. Guther that it was rare for teenage boys to have such a severe case of scoliosis but not unheard of. He'd need surgery to correct it and he heard the words idiopathic whatever that meant. He was close to having another panic attack when his dad gently gripped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Come on son, let's go back to the apartment." Jeff said, gently herding Alan from the room. Jeff had some damage control on his hands.

It took some effort, but Jeff soon got Alan back out to the car and seat belted in the passenger seat. Alan remained in silence. Jeff looked at his son with something akin to pain, he really wished he could take this for his son. He never wished for Alan to have scoliosis or anything physically limiting really.

"We'll get this taken care of son, it'll take some time but you'll be fine." Jeff said and he briefly wondered if he was stating the obvious more for his sake rather than for Alan's. Alan continued staring forward, totally silent.

It took no time at all for them to get back to the penthouse and once there, Alan walked in the living room and plopped down on the couch. Jeff set down his keys and went to his bedroom to send Scott a brief text to let them all know that they'd be returning the following day before he went out to the living room to see Alan laying on the couch clinging to a throw pillow as tears soundlessly fell from his eyes. Jeff felt his heart breaking for his son. He wished a hundred times over that Alan hadn't been diagnosed with anything but poor posture, but then Jeff realized that Alan wasn't usually one for slouching. His brothers, they slouched or hunched their shoulders when in thought or sitting on the couch. But Alan…he didn't. It drove him crazy to slouch and Jeff distinctly remembered his own mother chastising his other sons to sit or stand up straight like Alan.

It was in that moment that it occurred why none of them had noticed the scoliosis before it'd progressed so far. ' _His body was naturally compensating for the curve in his spine.'_. After that realization was made, Jeff wondered if he should have his other sons checked for scoliosis but then shook his head in the negative. Gordon's back was damaged so it'd already been corrected. His other sons were already in their early twenties and so their bones were no longer able to shift or alter – at least not until they'd grown older. He'd keep it in mind to remind them periodically to get their backs checked when they had their annual physicals with the family doctor on the mainland.

Walking over to Alan, Jeff gently placed a hand on his youngest child's shoulder to gather his attention. "Son, you want me to pack your bag? We're gonna head out a little after midnight to go home."

Alan slowly shook his head before he stood to wordlessly glide to his bedroom where he quietly closed his bedroom door. Jeff watched Alan with worry and trepidation. He knew Alan was once again devastated, but he hoped Alan wouldn't shut him out like he had earlier that last week. He wished there was something more he could do to cheer Alan up. There was only so much junk food, favorite movies and hot fudge sundaes could fix and sadly this wasn't one of them.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The flight back to the island was most uneventful. Jeff didn't want to classify Alan as being moody or moping, but he kept to himself and remained quiet. If there was ever a time that Jeff wished for there to be arguing, now was one of those times. At least then Alan would be talking. He wouldn't be this quiet and morose teen.

When they'd landed on the island, Alan departed from the jet and disappeared. Jeff hadn't had time to catch Alan while he was doing his cooldown routine for the jet to make sure she could be flown again when necessary. When he made it back to the villa, he was stopped by his oldest, middle and second youngest sons. They wanted to know about Alan's appointment and find out how Alan was doing. Jeff directed his sons to his office before he closed the door to explain to them everything about the appointment and to answer their questions.

"Where is Alan anyway dad?" Scott asked as he took notice of the little brother who normally was underfoot no longer being present.

"Somewhere on the island…he got off the jet and ran off before I could stop him. He's got a lot on his mind, we'll give him some time to come to terms with his diagnoses." Jeff said before it occurred to him that it'd be a combined family effort to help Alan understand and come to terms with the diagnoses. "I'm going to go ask Onaha to make some of Alan's favorites before I'm going to go see if I can find him. To be perfectly honest, I don't think he should be alone right now."

"I'll go look for him and I'll send a pulse if I find him." Scott said as he gestured to the watch on his wrist. Brains recently updated the watches to send a pulse to other wearers when designated. Alan didn't have one yet and a thought occurred to Scott. He would mention it to his dad later, but he thought of something that might cheer up his little brother. Thunderbirds always worked wonders with distracting his baby brother.

"Okay, I'll look for him too." Virgil commented agreeing that he'd send a pulse also if he found Alan. Gordon jumped in with his two cents and they all departed from the office.

Jeff went to the garden that Kyrano planted first, Alan liked sitting out there – one time commented that it was a good place to sit and think. Scott on the other hand decided he'd check Alan's bluff as they called it. It was a cliff overlooking the ocean and Alan would often go there if he wanted to be alone. Virgil went up to Alan's room because he knew if his little brother wanted to sulk, he'd more than likely go there since he could lock his door and not be bothered. Gordon on the other hand tried to think like Alan. If he were Alan and he wanted to be left alone – he'd go somewhere really out of the way. Holding up his index finger while deep in thought, Gordon gave the gesture for having an ah-ha moment.

He went down to the kitchen and grabbed a couple bottles of water and some granola bars, stuffing them into a satchel. Where he was going would require a little hiking and climbing combined with some intuitive thinking, but if he knew Alan as well as he thought he did – his kid brother would most definitely be there and he'd be surprised to know that Gordon knew of his secret hiding place.

Gordon walked out onto the patio, readjusting his satchel so that it was cross body and began his journey into the jungle. There was a reason their dad forbade them going into the jungle, but Alan often disregarded the warnings, choosing instead to laugh in the face of danger and be Mr. Macho.

The katipo spider made its home on Tracy island same as they themselves did. It was a spider commonly found in New Zealand. It came from the same family that Black Widow spiders came from and that spelled trouble to Gordon. Sure they had vials of the anti-venom, but that was expensive and he'd rather not haul Alan's sorry ass from the jungle and to the infirmary for an anti-venom shot. Their dad forbade them entrance into the jungle because as he stated, the jungle was home to those spiders – if we didn't welcome them into our villa they shouldn't have to welcome us into their territory. But Alan often made his own rules, potentially fatal spider bites be damned.

Groaning more to himself, Gordon swore up and down that he was going to wring his little brother's neck when he found him. He reached up onto a rock shelf and pulled himself up, sighing as he stopped to catch his breath and drink some water. He looked around his surroundings, not noticing for the first time that the view from one of the ventilation shafts of the sleeping volcano was breath taking both in figure of speech and reality. He looked above himself to judge how much longer he had to climb when he heard a sniffle. He stood up and looked to the ventilation shaft a couple meters above his own head and saw the tips of his brother's sneakers. And boy was he going to truly murder Alan for making this trek in improper footwear.

Rolling his eyes, Gordon proceeded in climbing further up the side of the volcano. He didn't hear the gasp of surprise from his brother only the sounds of his own ragged breathing as he bodily pulled himself higher until he was sprawled out on the ground beside his brother.

"G-Gordon what are you doing here?!" Alan asked in shock. Gordon rolled his head to the side in time to see Alan trying to quickly dry his face of any tears. Despite his own fatigue, Gordon sat up and pulled his brother tight to his chest. Alan sat in shock before tears continued to flood his eyes and spill down his cheeks.

"You don't need to hide Alan. It's more than okay to be upset. Cry if you need to, I won't let you go." Gordon cursed his inability to be a softie like John or Virgil. He was useless when it came to providing a decent shoulder to cry on. But Alan heeded his words and unleashed the torrent of tears. Gordon awkwardly patted Alan on the back, now noticing the hump in his brother's back. He unleashed a string of curses in his head toward himself and his other brothers as well as his dad for not noticing in time that something had changed in their baby of the family.

Alan continued to cry, fists knotting up Gordon's t-shirt as a litany of why's fell from Alan's mouth. Alan wasn't asking Gordon, but more like he was asking God and cursing him for giving him this…body full of misaligned vertebrae and physical alterations.

"Why me? Why? How could this happen? God, I hate my life." Alan sobbed, time and time again before Gordon got fed up with Alan's pity party.

"Hey, knock that off." Gordon chastised as he pulled Alan away to make eye contact with his brother, easily looking past the trails of tears and waterfalls of snot leaking from his little brother's nose. He made eye contact with Alan, trying to get a message across to him. "I never want to hear you say you hate your life…ever again. Do you hear me? I will kick your ass and I'll let Scott, John, Virge and dad have a chance to kick your ass too if I ever hear you say that again. Imagine how everyone of you would have felt if I'd said I hated my life after my accident left me unable to walk. It's not fair to you, it's not fair to me, it's not fair for any of our brothers or dad and it sure as hell isn't fair to mom who died not long after bringing you into this world!"

"Maybe she shouldn't have!" Alan back talked and this time Gordon didn't hesitate to smack his brother.

"Jackass!" Gordon hissed before he pulled Alan into a tight hug. "I don't care if mom died as a result of septicemia, she gave us you."

"But I don't want to be handicapped." Alan whimpered.

"You're not. You have a condition that makes your spine curve abnormally, but you're still very much capable to do everything. You want to be a Thunderbird someday? Then you damn well shall. You want to hike across Timbuktu holding a sign that says give peace a chance then you will. You don't let your condition define who you are. I don't…so you shouldn't either." Gordon said emphatically. "We'll still love you and nothing is going to change that."

"But everyone at school will call me a freak." Alan said softly.

"Forget them! Their opinion of you means nothing…you hear me? Nothing. If they give you hell for having a condition you had no control over, tell them to forget themselves." Gordon said as he gave his brother a tighter hug. "The only opinions that should matter to you are from those that love and support you. Us…your family, The Belegants and Hackenbacker's…your friends. I know it'll be hard to hear the hurtful words of your peers, but all you need to remember is to keep your head held high and know that you are better than them. You are Alan Shephard Tracy and you are MY little brother. Know that I love you and I'm only a phone call away to kick some asses if the boys at your school give you a hard time."

Alan was silent for a few moments before he gave a soft breathy chuckle. "Perhaps you shouldn't begin writing Hallmark cards and just stick with your day job Gordo."

"Yeah, that was pretty…emasculating wasn't it. All that sweetness has given me cavities now. Thanks Alan." Gordon said with a smirk.

"You're already emasculated Gordo." Alan commented with an impish grin.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that…okay sprout?" Gordon said before he leaned back against the rock wall. "This is a really cool hide out Sprout. Though not what I'd like to do with my evening."

"What are you doing here anyway?" Alan asked as he accepted the handkerchief that Gordon carried around with him. It was one of five that their mother had sewn monograms into before she'd passed away a few days after childbirth with Alan. She'd intended them as Christmas presents for the boys, but they'd gotten them from their dad not long after they were old enough to appreciate the gift they were being given. Gordon looked out at the horizon as he heard Alan blowing his nose and he made a mental note to ask Onaha to wash it when she washed the laundry.

"Dad and the guys were worried about you when you just took off. We all decided we'd try to find you." Gordon said before he remembered to send the pulse to his brothers so they'd know he'd found Alan. He did just that before he leaned against the rocks behind him. "What's going on in that noggin of yours anyway?"

"You'll laugh." Alan remarked as he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his chin on his knees.

"No I won't. You can trust me; I swear I won't laugh." Gordon said as he looked at his brother seriously.

"I'm terrified…of having my back cut open and having doctors doing things to my spine. I mean, what if they screw up and I'm left paralyzed or my surgeon accidently leaves her wedding ring in my back?" Alan said and he waited for the laughter. But it never came.

"Kid, you're talking to someone who knows from experience that having your back cut open is a damn scary experience. I've been there, remember that. I was told by not just one doctor but four that I'd never walk again. Four…and I made them eat their words. I busted my ass in physical therapy just to take that first step again and it felt amazing. Yeah it hurt and I won't lie – I was terrified also but I had you all behind me cheering me on. None of you ever gave up on me and you can count on us that we won't let you down either. We'll be rooting for you 110% of the way. We've got your back." Gordon said before he sighed. It'd take some time, but hopefully Alan would begin to accept the word that Gordon spoke as law and would begin to trust his family. They wouldn't give up on him. And when he gave up on himself, they'd be there to catch him and keep him going. "Let me rest up for a few more minutes before we get our butts back home before dad starts breathing fire."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Almost an hour and a half later, Gordon and Alan were making their way back into the villa. Jeff who was sat at the table swiftly stood and moved to hug both his boys in relief that Alan had been found.

"Where were you Alan? I was worried sick." Jeff softly reprimanded.

Alan and Gordon shared a look, having already agreed that they'd not tell their dad that Alan was found in the forbidden jungle. Their dad wouldn't hesitate to ground Alan and he didn't need that on top of his scoliosis diagnoses.

"I was around." Alan evaded before he sank down to sit at the table. "Can we just eat lunch so I can go be alone?"

"No, you're going to spend some time with your brothers. They haven't seen you much since you came home and Scott was thinking of taking you up with him to go retrieve John from Five. Virgil and Gordon can go or not, it's up to them." Jeff said to which Virgil blanched at the thought of going into orbit even for a few hours. He never tolerated being in space well unlike his brothers. Usually he got viciously sick and that wouldn't be fair to anyone, least of all Alan who would probably have to sit next to Virgil especially since Alan got motion sick and sitting next to a sick Virgil wouldn't be fair.

"I'll stay here thanks…I am good, don't need to go into space. Not for me." Virgil deflected as he casually strolled away.

"Nice try Virge." Scott commented as he grabbed Virgil in a headlock. "You can take your motion sick meds."

"No, actually I am good. I'd rather not be throwing up for the next twenty-four hours because of having my equilibrium screwed with." Virgil said as he wrestled out of Scott's hold.

"Alright Scott leave our brother alone. If he doesn't want to go, he doesn't have to." Gordon replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "He'll just be a chicken."

"I am not a chicken; I just don't feel like being perpetually sick until this time tomorrow. The last time I did that I wound up on a rescue and I did more spewing than I did saving. It wasn't fun and I'd rather not do it again." Virgil defended.

"Actually, can I just stay here with Virgil?" Alan asked as he knew his dad was doubling back to New York for his meeting he'd rescheduled. He had some contacts from the South East Asia corporation that was interested in potentially selling to Jeff so that they'd earn the Tracy Enterprises stamp logo and would begin turning a profit from Tracy Enterprises. "I don't really feel like going to Five."

Scott, Gordon and Virgil both looked at their brother with near identical frowns. Never had their little brother ever NOT been interested in anything related to the Thunderbirds. This was an offer from Scott to take Alan up into space and he'd never been up there once since the Thunderbirds had been started.

"Fine, Scott you can go ahead and go get John – Alan can stay with Virgil and Gordon it's up to you. Go, stay – your choice." Jeff said as he swiftly delivered a kiss to Alan's forehead and gave his other sons a hug goodbye. "I'll call when I'm back in New York."

With that Jeff left and Scott, Virgil and Gordon were wondering what they could do to cheer their brother up. Scott grabbed Alan in a headlock and proceeded in roughing up his hair before grabbing Gordon by the neck of his shirt and dragging him along. Soon it was only Virgil and Alan and the artist cast a sidelong glance to his brother in nervousness. Sure he knew how to handle his baby brother, but he didn't know how to handle Alan currently. After standing in silence for a few moments, Alan announced he was going to go to his room. Virgil started to watch him go, before he called Alan back.

"Did you maybe want to go paint with me?" It was a long shot by far to try enticing Alan with art but Virgil knew something about Alan that none of their other brothers were really aware of. Alan had a hidden talent for art. He didn't show it often, but the few times that Virgil and Alan spent time alone together, they both liked to draw or paint in silence. Alan had a portfolio of art that he kept in Virgil's studio simply because none of their other brothers ventured in the room because of complaints that the room stunk of oil paints. Virgil didn't notice the scent of oil paint and Alan didn't seem to mind it.

Alan looked like he wanted to refuse but after a few moments of silence he nodded. Virgil gave a relieved smile before he walked over and pulled Alan close and led the way to his…no their art studio.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan gripped the bark of the tree he sat in with his toes as he curled up to draw the exotic flower growing on the limb just above his head. Virgil sat on the ground below, drawing a lizard that was sunning itself on the rock by his leg. They'd been sitting there long enough the lizard crawled out and relaxed, not caring that Virgil was a potential threat.

"So kiddo, you want to tell me about it?" Virgil asked, taking the risk to make Alan mad.

"What do you mean?" Alan asked as he tried to focus on his drawing.

"Kid, the last time you were this quiet you'd just gotten your tonsils and adenoids removed. It's been four very long years since you were this quiet." Virgil commented. "Something's on your mind and I'd like to know. Maybe I can help."

"Nobody can help me." Alan replied as he lost the wind in his sails and gave up on his drawing, choosing instead to change pages and drawing everything in monochromatic color.

"We can if you'll let us." Virgil said as he looked up at his brother before noticing his muse had scurried away somewhere under some foliage. Instead Virgil changed a page to start drawing a comic strip of Alan animated as a monkey with a tail after seeing Alan using his toes to remain in the tree. He changed the drawing to making Alan look like Tarzan grabbing the flower the boy was drawing with his toes before giving it to Tin-Tin. Virgil knew of Alan's crush on Tin-Tin. It was why Alan didn't want to tell anyone about his doctor appointment.

"Why does everyone feel like they can help me? Unless you have a spare spine lying around in your closet or can order a new one from off line, I think you should quit offering me help." Alan snapped. "I need surgery to repair the curve in my spine, there is nothing you or anyone can do to help me."

"We can support you kid, never say never…remember that." Virgil said before he stood up after ripping a page from his sketch book to bookmark Alan's sketch book. "Don't shut us out."

With that said, Virgil went into the villa; leaving Alan to contemplate what Virgil said. He felt bad for snapping at Virgil and he knew he'd need to apologize soon. Virgil was just trying to help, but Alan was still having trouble coming to terms with his condition so he knew he'd occasionally snap at those he loved. Noticing the page Virgil had given him, Alan pulled it from his own sketchbook to see it was addressed to "The bravest little brother I know" he flipped open the page which had been folded and read the comic strip that Virgil illustrated with Alan as a character.

Alan read through the comic strip and gave a sad smile and looked back toward the villa and smiled with a shining gaze. Alan was detailed as a superhero that fought and won a battle with the villain titled The Crooked Man. The Crooked Man worked for Lord Osis and he caused pain and was most known for his magical powers of manipulation. He manipulated his victim's backs and brought strife and misshapen spines. In the comic, Alan defeated The Crooked Man and restored the victims he'd afflicted with scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis. In the bottom strip, Alan was in a battle with Lord Osis and his minions to reverse his own manipulated spine. At the end of the battle, Alan who'd been animated with a slightly off-kilter midsection was properly aligned and was flying back to his island home.

Feeling the need to properly thank Virgil and apologize for his earlier blow up, Alan jumped down from the tree and ran inside. He'd left his shoes in the villa by the door. He already had his art supplies and so was just heading in to thank Virgil for his gift. It granted a smile which Alan felt he hadn't had a right to smile.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan peeked out the door, shying looking around for anyone that might be watching him head out to the pool for an evening swim. It was really warm all day and now that heat had abated enough to go out and try to enjoy the cool water. Gordon, Scott and Virgil were away on a rescue with their dad and Brains in the Command central facilitating the rescue. He gripped the hem of his baggy T-shirt before he practically skipped to the edge of the pool and sat on the side. He looked around again and when he didn't see anyone lingering around he scooted off the edge and submerged himself into the pool. After resurfacing, Alan pushed his fringe back and exhaled. He floated for a few moments before holding his breath and going beneath the surface to swim. Gordon wasn't the only one that felt more relaxed with swimming. It gave him time to think, much like it did for Gordon. He didn't notice movement along the edge of the pool until there was a splash on the surface.

Resurfacing and wiping the water from his face, Alan felt his stomach sink with dread when Tin-Tin sat on the edge of the pool having slapped the water's surface to get Alan's attention. He stayed away from her for a few moments until Tin-Tin demanded he come talk to her.

"Why've you been avoiding me and Fermat? Huh? Did we do something to offend you?" Tin-Tin asked alight with indignant anger.

"No, it's not that." Alan replied as he tried to continue ignoring going to see Tin-Tin by the edge of the pool.

"Then what is it if it's not that? Come on Alan, I feel like I'm missing a limb not having you around me like I usually do. What happened to the Three Amigos?" Tin-Tin asked, feeling hurt that she hasn't seen Alan much since he'd come back from his doctor's appointment two weeks earlier.

"I can't tell you." Alan replied as he eventually swam over to see Tin-Tin.

"And what's with you wearing a shirt when you swim? Normally you can't wait to run around topless." Tin-Tin asked as she took notice of Alan's swim wear.

"I felt like wearing a shirt this time, is there a problem with that?" Alan replied hotly.

"What's happened to you? You're not acting like yourself." Tin-Tin asked as she noticed Alan's response.

"I'm having a bad day okay. I'm allowed to have those occasionally." Alan said as he pushed away from the edge of the pool to swim to the other side and climb out using the ladder. Tin-Tin followed him and was there with her arms folded across her chest as she tapped her foot in impatience. "What do you want?!"

"I want my friend back!" Tin-Tin exclaimed. "I want _my_ friend back! Not this sullen and depressed kid who looks like my friend. You've been acting weird!"

"I've had a lot on my mind, okay?! I can't always be happy go lucky!" Alan replied angrily.

"You've been acting different ever since you and your dad went to see your pediatrician about your back pain…what…did you get bad news?" Tin-Tin started off yelling but when it occurred to her when this sullen side of Alan appeared, she went almost silent.

Alan didn't say anything, simply looked away with a tinge of shame shining across his cheeks. Tin-Tin's hand flew to her mouth when it occurred to her that Alan had just indirectly answered her with his reaction.

"You **did** get bad news!" Tin-Tin exclaimed before she tried to hug Alan. He practically danced out of her reach when she tried to hug him and his evasion hurt her worse than a knife in the chest. She choked back tears as she felt his rejection. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"You wouldn't understand." Alan replied softly as he moved to sit on a deck chair.

"Try me Alan. I'm your friend and I love you! Just tell me!" Tin-Tin exclaimed as she stood by Alan's chair and stared down at him.

"You'd look at me like I was a freak." Alan said as he opened up a little to his friend. "I don't want you to look at me differently."

"Alan, I'm not going to judge you! What kind of girl do you take me for? I love you and I hate seeing you acting so different." Tin-Tin said as she sat back to back with Alan on the deck chair.

"I love you too Tin-Tin, but this is something I have to deal with on my own." Alan tried to argue.

"That's bull and you know it. I thought we were friends, the kind that could tell each other anything." Tin-Tin said softly.

"I'll tell you eventually, but not right now. I'm still coming to terms with it." Alan said softly.

"Alan, please…just." Alan turned around when he felt the small and gentle hand on his shoulder. He met gazes with Tin-Tin and heaved a sigh. "Please…tell me. What did your pediatrician say?"

"He said I have an abnormal curve in my spine…I guess it's called scoliosis. He gave a referral to a radiologist so I could have a scan of my back and then an orthopedist took on my case. I have a drastic curve in my spine, one in my lumbar that is according to the scans thirty degrees and another in my thoracic spine that is greater at sixty degrees." Alan admitted with a dejected sigh. He hung his head in shame. He somehow knew that Tin-Tin wouldn't want anything more to do with him. He was caught off guard when he was enveloped into a tight hug by his friend and crush.

"I'm sorry." Tin-Tin whispered. "Here all this time I thought you were mad at me and I let myself get hurt by your avoidance. I should have known you wouldn't be avoiding me just for the heck of it."

Alan closed his eyes as he accepted the hug from Tin-Tin, going a step further by wrapping his own arms around her and holding her tight.

"This doesn't change anything. You're still my friend and I love you. If you need a listening ear, just let me know. I'll be right there beside you." Tin-Tin said as she hugged Alan and pressed a light kiss onto his cheek.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan exhaled sharply as he went back in for further examination almost a month later. Dr. Guther wanted to make sure his spine hadn't curved any further. Alan was lying on the table beneath the x-ray machine, one arm propped beneath his head. It wasn't comfortable for him to lay flat on his back, so the radiologist suggested he either bend his knees and keep his feet flat on the table or prop an arm behind his head. Since bending his knees would have shown off his boxers to the radiologist, Alan voted to prop one arm beneath his head.

Alan did as the radiologist said, and soon they were done and Alan was allowed to sit up. The radiologist walked back with Alan before she said she'd fax the scans to Dr. Guther and that she'd be in touch with them both. Alan tugged his jeans back on and zipped up the fly before he turned to look at his dad who was rubbing his forehead. Alan felt bad for causing all this trouble for his dad. He kept trying to strategize how much in chores or IR work he'd have to do to pay back his dad for the treatment of a medical condition in which he felt he was to blame.

He kept quiet though as his dad stood up. Alan hurriedly tied his shoes while standing and he rushed to catch up with his dad. It seemed like his dad was mad and Alan wondered if it was something he'd done. It was a few hours later that Jeff got a phone call from Dr. Guther's office and he spoke briefly with her before they hung up. Alan who was lying on the couch, sat up when his dad walked in.

"What's up dad?" Alan questioned.

"We need to go meet with Dr. Guther. She's received the results of your spinal scans." Jeff said as he picked up his keys from the bowl by the door.

Jeff and Alan went to the clinic where Dr. Guther worked and they didn't have to wait very long before Dr. Guther was able to see them. She walked in with a soft smile but Alan could read more into what her smile said. He felt like freezing cold hands gripped his heart as he waited for her to speak of their findings. He sat by feeling hopeless as Dr. Guther began going through their findings.

"Alan, I'm very sorry to say this but I was hoping you wouldn't need to have surgery for a while yet. The curve in your back shows signs of wanting to deteriorate further. We're going to need to take immediate action in order to prevent your back from worsening more than it has already. You go back to school, when? In September?" Dr. Guther said as she gently patted Alan on the knee.

"He goes back to school the second week in September." Jeff said as he had his son's school schedule committed to memory. "When are you wanting to do surgery?"

"Well, I'd like to get it done sooner rather than later. The sooner we do surgery, the sooner we can stabilize Alan's back and reverse the damage that's already been done by the scoliosis." Dr. Guther said as she turned her attention to Jeff. "I don't want Alan to suffer any debilitating side effects."

"I see." Jeff said noticing his son was once again remaining oddly quiet. Turning his own attention to his son, Jeff noticed Alan seemed to be deep in thought. He wondered what was going on in his son's head, but he knew Alan wouldn't volunteer anything he was thinking about. "When would you like to do surgery?"

"As soon as possible if we're able. I'll take down some measurements so that we have the correct length of rods." Dr. Guther replied evenly.

"What are the risks of surgery?" Jeff asked as he desired to know just how his son might be affected.

"Well, the number one risk is paraplegia which is complete or incomplete paralysis of the limbs and trunk and pelvic organs, but it's rare that paraplegia occurs. The other risk is excessive blood loss, but that is a risk with just about any surgery. And the other risks can be the rod breaking or dislodging from where we've anchored them though very uncommon, infection setting in after surgery, the leakage of cerebrospinal fluid which is also quite rare, Alan's spine not fusing which is completely opposite of what we'd like to have happen and last but not least the continued progression of the curve in Alan's back." Dr. Guther rattled off before taking notice of both Alan and Jeff's faces paling rather rapidly.

"I don't feel so good." Alan said before he hurried from the room. Jeff remained seated as if absorbing the information.

"My god…my poor son." Jeff said as he took in a deep breath.

"It's not as bad as it sounds Mr. Tracy. Those are the risks, but it's very rare that should ever actually happen."

Alan re-entered the room a few moments later, more pale than he was when he left. Jeff reached over to feel Alan's forehead for fever and he combed his fingers through Alan's hair.

"Are you alright Alan?" Jeff asked as he noticed Alan's face was clammy.

"I'll be fine." Alan whispered meekly as he crossed his arms over his stomach. "So, you were discussing when I should have my surgery?"

"Yes, it's up to you but I'd highly recommend it be soon." Dr. Guther said as she placed the x-rays on the light board. "You see here? This was the spinal x-ray when you initially came to me a little over a month ago. This one is the x-ray from earlier today."

Alan and Jeff watched on as Dr. Guther placed the second x-ray on the light board. "You see here? It's barely noticeable, but your spine has dipped a bit more. It's progressing faster than we'd anticipated. I don't mean to scare you, but your spine could deteriorate even more by the time you are eighteen and by then it could be too late to correct it. I want you to have a normal life, as normal a life as possible."

Alan nodded slowly and sadly.

"Do you understand?" Dr. Guther asked as she looked at the young boy in her care.

"Yes, I do." Alan gulped nervously. "When do you want to do the surgery?"

"Alan, I think you should give this a little more thought before you jump in head first." Jeff said as he wanted Alan to understand the repercussions of surgery.

"I am, I'm thinking about my future." Alan replied emphatically. "I want to be able to take part in the family business and I can't do that if I can barely walk or lift anything without pain or further damage to my spine."

Jeff could see simply by looking in Alan's eyes that Alan was referring to International Rescue. He knew he couldn't shield Alan from everything, and he knew this decision was solely Alan's. It was his back, his body and his decision in the end. Jeff could refuse Alan, but he knew Alan would probably have it done eventually and he knew Alan would rather take the risk of potential paraplegia instead of increasing pain and eventual deterioration of his spine.

"Alright then." Looking at Dr. Guther, Jeff inquired as such when they might be able to procure an appointment.

"Well, let's see." Dr. Guther moved to her computer across the room and pulled up a copy of her surgery schedule. "I can do three weeks from now, first thing in the morning at seven am and another appointment on the same day for noon. Or I can do a month from now and get you in at ten in the morning. After that I'm booked solid for two months."

Jeff and Dr. Guther both looked at Alan as it was his decision ultimately.

"Let's do the first one, three weeks from now at seven in the morning." Alan said before exhaling deeply. "Is there anything I should know about after surgery?"

"Not much, just that you'll be on bed rest for a couple days to minimize movement then you'll be put into a brace that you'll have to wear which I'll prescribe to you and you'll have to wear that until I can tell you to take it off. It'll prevent bending and twisting and you'll not be permitted to lift anything for the first three months after surgery. You can lift the basics of a glass or a book or two but I'm afraid you'll be prohibited from lifting laundry baskets, or doing chores which require lifting, bending, stooping or twisting." Dr. Guther listed before continuing. "You'll also be restricted to activities that don't require physical contact or jarring activities such as football, basketball, or soccer for 6 to 12 months following surgery. Your physical activity will need to be limited should it prevent your bones from fusing."

"Wow, okay." Alan replied softly before it occurred to him about school. "What will I do about my PE credit at school?"

"I'll provide a doctor's note excusing you from your physical education class. You can do things like swim after your surgical site heals, you'll just still want to be careful about twisting or bending."

"Will I have to wear my brace outside of my clothes?" Alan asked as thoughts of being teased ran through his head.

"No, you can wear it under your clothes, but it might look a bit bulky." Dr. Guther admitted.

"Okay." Alan whispered as he accepted that he'd need a brace and he hoped he wouldn't need it by the time he went back to school.

"Alright." Dr. Guther said as she pulled up a program on her computer to show a simulation of Alan's back and what they were going to do to Alan's spine during surgery. "Both of you come on over, I'll show you what we'll be doing during surgery."

Alan and Jeff both dragged their seats over to sit beside Dr. Guther as she revealed the program to Alan and Jeff. They watched as Dr. Guther manipulated a simulated patient and made an incision along his back. The simulated surgery took place with a rod being inserted along both sides of the spine and the spine being corrected. Once properly re-aligned, hooks and anchors were utilized so as to prevent the rods from shifting. Afterward, the simulated patient's surgical site was closed up.

"So that's what's going to happen to me?" Alan asked tentatively.

"Yes, we'll need to take down measurements so we can order the correct sized rods and hooks to stabilize your spine. But other than that, we shouldn't have to prepare for much else. We'll gather the measurements for your back brace also." Dr. Guther commented softly.

"As you wish." Alan whispered lowly. "Let's get this over with then."

"Alright, If I could have you remove your shirt and pants, I'll mark along your back just where we'll do the incision and while I'm at I'll take down your measurements." Dr. Guther said before she stood up. "I'm going to give you a moment to undress while I go retrieve my measurement tools."

With that she left and Alan and Jeff were left alone. Alan wasted no time with undressing and he sat on the exam table while he waited for Dr. Guther to return. Alan tilted his head from side to side and let his neck pop while he drummed his fingers nervously as he waited for Dr. Guther to return.

Jeff didn't know quite what to say to his son. He knew Alan was making a brave decision, but he didn't want to comment on Alan's bravery for concern that praise would be scoffed at.

"Dad?" Alan started, sinking into himself and drawing his knees up onto the exam table before wrapping his arms around his knees. "Do you think I'm making the right choice?"

Jeff was taken by surprise to see the scared side of his son so plainly in front of himself. Normally Alan wouldn't show his fears, or anything besides boastful pride. He felt his chest tighten as he felt his son desired comfort from his dad right now. Standing, Jeff wrapped Alan tightly in his grasp. Alan was legitimately shaking.

"You're going to be fine Alan." Jeff replied. "I did some research on Dr. Guther's surgical team and they're the best in the Eastern Seaboard for corrective spinal surgery. You're in good hands."

"Knock, knock!" Dr. Guther announced before she re-entered the room. After seeing the position Alan was in she walked over only to see how hard he was shaking. "Alan, I'm going to take care of you. When I listed off the risks, I didn't mean that they'd happen to you. Those are the general risks that can come with any surgery involving the spine."

"Alan, you know from watching your brother that he was fine after surgery. It wasn't the surgery that left him partially paralyzed but the accident. He's fine and he can walk now. You'll be fine too." Jeff said soothingly.

"Your father's right Alan." Dr. Guther murmured softly before she stepped back when Alan started to uncurl. "Do you need a few more minutes or do you want to proceed with the measurements.?"

"Let's just get done so I can go home." The scared child in Alan wasn't afraid to admit that he was terrified of the surgery. He hoped he'd be okay.

"Okay." Dr. Guther said before she prompted Alan to stand up straight but to relax his arms instead of keeping them held rigid. Dr. Guther recorded her measurements as she went along and for the first time, Jeff was able to see Alan's right shoulder blade stuck out further than his left did and now since he was seeing Alan without a shirt on, could see that Alan's whole body was disproportionate to the rest of his body. And then he understood why Alan was constantly standing up straight. He couldn't slouch because it put too much strain on his back. Alan was unintentionally disguising his scoliosis with adjusting his posture. "Lean forward for me and try to touch your toes."

Alan did just that and Dr. Guther pointed out where Alan's scoliosis made its appearance, much to Alan's annoyance. He remained quiet, but was silently fuming at being talked about like he wasn't in the room.

Once Alan's back had been marked up with a permanent marker, Dr. Guther allowed Alan to stand up and to begin putting his clothes back on. Dr. Guther assured them that the markings would stay on his back through showers and she reassured that she'd re-mark Alan's back so her and the surgical team would know where they were working.

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Later, Alan and his dad were headed back to the island and Alan pouted in the cockpit seat beside his dad. He and his dad had a brief dispute on the drive over to the airstrip after Alan's doctor appointment and Alan was still hurt from the argument. He didn't like his dad telling him he was brave one minute and calling him a kid the next.

Jeff purposely remained quiet as he flew the jet home, deep in thought over how they were going to handle Alan having surgery within the next three weeks. He wondered if his sons would beg off from working IR in order to be there for Alan after he had his back worked on. He wondered if it'd be best to shut down operations so his sons could attend without their say and he also wondered about how badly they'd be needed. Should he just keep the 'birds' at the military base for safekeeping should there be an emergency somewhere and keep his sons on call? He wondered over everything. Mostly how to help Alan once he'd gotten the surgery.

He wondered if he should mandate Alan relocate his bedroom temporarily to Jeff's study that was separate from his office so that he wouldn't have far to go and not have to attempt the stairs or if Alan would balk over being treated like a baby. So much was on his mind and he just didn't quite know what to think of. He knew Gordon had used a wheelchair to get around for a while following his own surgeries after his accident and he wondered if Alan would require one for a bit or a cane. He doubted it, but thoughts just continued running through his head at lightning fast speed.

"Tracy One, you're on final approach…is everything alright?" Scott's voice asked through the CB radio.

"Yes, everything's fine Scott." Jeff replied absently as he started slowing the speed of the jet to bring her down lightly.

"Okay, you just normally advise of your ETA and you just popped up on the radar without a word. I didn't know it was you and almost sent the drone." Scott said.

"Sorry Scott." Jeff knew the drone was a way to establish contact with the unknown craft that was trying to come closer. It also would try to deter any from their base without proper contact.

"We'll see you in about five minutes." Scott replied, before he cut off contact.

Jeff was left in silence once more before he turned to look at Alan. "Don't go anywhere when we land."

"Why? So you can yell at me again?" Alan asked sullenly.

"We need to tell your brothers what's going to happen in three weeks. I want you to tell them since it's your decision." Jeff replied softly.

"Whatever." Alan said as he kept his gaze turned out the window.

Jeff went silent as he was shut out by Alan. He knew he shouldn't have argued with his son. Alan was going through a substantial number of issues and he was entitled to anger. Jeff should have known Alan wouldn't have flown off the handle as quick as he did if it wasn't for the diagnosis hanging over his head, and various other issues.

Jeff brought the jet in to land and Alan stayed seated until Jeff finished his checkups through the equipment and cooldown of the systems. When Jeff stood he prompted Alan to go with him and Alan was sullen when he went. The youngest Tracy followed his dad, his eyes never straying from his own feet. Jeff led Alan to the lift which would take them into the villa. Jeff asked without turning. "Did you want me to gather everyone so that you can tell them all at once?"

Alan nodded and when Jeff didn't hear a verbal reply he turned only to see Alan nod slowly again.

They made it into the office after a few minutes and Jeff had Alan sit on the couch while he punched a button on the phone to give him access to every speaker system in the villa.

"Could I have everyone gathered in the office in ten minutes please? I mean everyone, we have some news to tell you all." Jeff said before cutting the connection to the intercom.

When everyone did filter in, all eyes were directed to Jeff…he shook his head and directed all attention to Alan who was sitting huddled on the couch. Alan took a deep breath before he started off, not making eye contact with anyone.

"You all know I had some pretty intense back pain a while back right? Well, I went to the doctor and he thought there was something odd with the curve of my spine. And for those of you that don't already know, I was later diagnosed by an orthopedist with a condition known as idiopathic scoliosis." Alan spoke softly as he felt shame burn brightly on his face at the admission of the condition that affected him. "The idiopathic means that nobody knows what really causes it. It wasn't something hereditary since no one in our family has a history of it. Anyway, upon further inspection it's been found that my form of scoliosis is pretty severe. I won't go into detail, but it's bad and it could cause me to have debilitating side effects though the doctor wouldn't tell me what those were. To be fair though, I didn't ask."

Nobody in the room spoke. There was only silence.

"So when dad and I went back today for more tests, my orthopedist told dad and I that my spine is still trying to curve and she said the only way to halt the progression is to…to…to…um." Alan bit his lip as he struggled to continue. He looked at his dad and saw the man nod that he should continue before Alan spoke up. "Dr. Guther said the only way to halt the progression is for me to undergo surgery. So, in three weeks I'll be going to the hospital and Dr. Guther and her team will…try to reverse the damage done to my spine and try to prevent further damage."

"Surgery?" Fermat asked, stutter surprisingly absent. "What will they do?!"

"Dr. Guther said she plans on making an incision from the top of my spine all the way down my back then she said she was going to insert two titanium rods on either side of my spine and anchor them. Then she said she was going to attach hooks and use those to forcefully straighten my spine. After that she'd close me up and let me recover."

"How long will that take?" Tin-Tin asked softly.

"I'm going to be bed ridden for a few days then I have to wear a brace that will prevent me from bending over or twisting. I won't be permitted to lift anything heavier than a cup or a light book for the first three months after my surgery and I can't play contact sports for six to twelve months following surgery." Alan said softly.

"So can I ask how that will affect Alan going up the stairs?" Gordon asked as a thought occurred to him. Turning to Alan, Gordon spoke directly to him. "You're clumsy as hell on a good day, no offence. So how will you manage the stairs if you're wearing a brace that prevents you from twisting or bending?"

"I haven't thought of it quite that far." Alan admitted as he dropped his head into his hands. "Someone kill me now."

"Since we're on that topic Alan, I was thinking of that on the flight home and if you'd like to temporarily move into my study, we can move my junk out into my office for the time being and move your bed and other belongings there so you don't have to go up and down the stairs." Alan picked his head back up and looked at his dad with surprise.

"You'd do that dad?" Alan asked with surprise.

"Yes, I'd do it for any of you." Jeff said with a small smile.

"So, Alan will be having surgery in three weeks?" Scott asked as he shifted in his seat to look directly at his dad. "What are we doing about operations?"

"That was something else I wanted to talk to you all about. I wanted to know if we wanted to keep operations up and running or if we wanted to shut down for a few days until we got your brother home and settled." Jeff said.

"I say we shut down operations." Gordon said raising his hand in vote. Virgil, Scott, John (from the computer monitor), Tin-Tin and Fermat as well as their parents and Jeff all raising their hands in vote to shut down operations.

"Guys, you can't not save the world because of me. I'm just one person." Alan said as he saw how many of his close family and friends would rather let the whole world suffer than to leave him at the hospital.

"But you're our world Al, you matter more to us than they do." John said from his connection. "We're going to be there for you no matter what."

"Thanks." Alan said softly as they all continued their discussions.

* * *

 _ **A/N: A helpful suggestion from a reviewer made me take a second look at this story and decide rather than leaving it as one long story, I'll be breaking it up into three chapters. It takes me three days with interruptions to finish reading this and it's just too long - so you'll notice if you're rereading this that it's got three chapters now instead of one.**_


	2. Surgery

Alan stared nervously up at the ceiling as he awaited Dr. Guther's nurses to come retrieve him from his room. One of the other nurses made sure Alan hadn't eaten anything the night before from midnight onward. He was wearing the stupid gown, the little white hospital bracelet sliding up and down his arm as he shifted positons on his bed. His dad and brothers were gathered around his bed, everyone waiting for the surgery to be over.

Alan's IV had already been started and a sedative was given to him to make him comfortable and relaxed. He could barely keep his eyes opened as he looked down at his brothers that sat by his feet who were talking to him. John wanted to be there and the older blond was trying to make Alan smile and laugh by playing 'this little piggy' with Alan's toes. Gordon was sitting on the bed, closer to the foot and was squeezing one of Alan's knees while Virgil and Scott sat by the head of the bed on either side of Alan and kept a constant stroke of their fingers through Alan's hair. Jeff was sat by Alan's bed and he watched in silence as Alan was comforted. He'd been a nervous wreck all morning, coming close to just cancelling the appointment when his mind kept him awake and thinking of nothing but worst case scenarios in regards to his surgery.

There was a soft knock on the door making Alan and his whole family look over when several nurses dressed for surgery entered.

"It's time to take Alan to the OR." One of the nurses whispered softly as each of Alan's brothers vacated his bed so the nurses could pull up the safety railing. The brakes were released and they started to leave the room. The whole family followed, each one walking with a hand on either Alan's head, shoulder or arm. When they made it to the point of no return, the nurses stopped so Alan's family could speak with him.

"You're gonna do awesome in there kiddo." John whispered as he leaned over the bed and made eye contact with his brother. Leaning down, John pressed a kiss unabashedly to his baby brother's forehead. Leaning away, Scott took his place.

"Hey there bud, you are so brave. I wish I could be as strong as you." Scott said with a proud yet incredibly worried smile adorning his face. He did the same as John and kissed Alan's forehead before he stepped away to let Virgil have his moment.

"It's gonna be okay kiddo. You're going to be just fine and I just wanted to tell you that you're so strong." Virgil said as he came around the side of the bed and leaned down to hug Alan and to kiss his cheek. He ran a knuckle across the swell of Alan's cheek and gave his baby brother a smile. He stepped away so that Gordon could say his piece.

"Kiddo, I know I don't say it very often but…I love you and I know you're going to be fine. Dr. Guther will take excellent care of you and you'll be good as new in no time." Gordon said before he leaned down to hug his brother and to brush a light kiss to his forehead. "Do me proud kiddo."

With his piece said, Jeff stepped in to whisper to his youngest also. "You're so strong son and I am so proud of you for being courageous enough to do this. I love you Alan."

When Jeff pulled away slightly, he saw Alan. The boy was lying there, looking up at his dad and a few stray tears leaked past his closed eyes before he opened them to look up at his dad.

"What's wrong son?' Jeff asked.

"I'm scared…I'm so scared." Alan whispered brokenly. "I'm not courageous."

"It's okay to be scared son. Just because you're scared, doesn't mean you aren't brave or courageous and that doesn't make you a coward either." Jeff whispered fondly. "You know what part of my favorite quote is and I remind you of it on occasion. 'Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.' You will do great. I believe in you and I know you'll make it through this with flying colors."

"How do you know?" Alan asked softly as the nurses announced they had to go.

"Because, you remind me of myself when I was your age." Jeff said before kissing Alan's cheek and gently patted his other cheek before the nurses wheeled him through the surgical doors. The family stood by for a few minutes before they went to sit in the waiting room they'd been assigned.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Once in the operating room, one of the nurses walked over and leaned in to talk to Alan. She could see the child was terrified and she wished there was more she could do that would ease his fears. She looked around the room at the nurses and two doctors that were present in the room. She looked up and could see there was at least one other doctor seen from up top in the observation room. They were just about ready to begin. Knowing her role, she alerted the anesthesiologist that it was time to administer the medicine that would put Alan to sleep.

Walking over with the anesthesiologist, the nurse leaned in and told Alan what was going to happen momentarily. She asked him if he was comfortable, if he was in any pain, before turning to topics he would likely be interested in. She asked him if he was interested in basketball and engaged in a conversation with him about favorite teams until the anesthesiologist came over with the mask and lightly interrupted.

"Okay Alan, now I'm going to slip this mask over your mouth and when I tell you, I want you to begin reciting the alphabet for me. You'll be asleep for the entire surgery and when you wake up, you'll be in recovery for a short while." The anesthesiologist said before he slipped the mask over Alan's mouth.

The nurse that was talking basketball with Alan prepared to leave when she felt a tug on her scrub. Looking over, she saw Alan had snagged her scrub top and she walked back over to the teen who was still very much awake. "Yes sweetie?"

"Can…would you hold my hand…just till I fall asleep?" Alan normally wouldn't ask for such a childish thing, but he was scared and this nurse made him feel comfortable.

"Of course sweetheart." The nurse said before she started talking about all things sports. She had a little brother Alan's age and knew a lot of sports trivia. She heard the anesthesiologist tell Alan to say his ABC's and she heard Alan begin reciting the alphabet. She never quit rattling off facts and trivia about sports though. She continued until Alan's grip had loosened and he was well and truly asleep.

"Alright team, let's get this started." Dr. Guther said as the medical team turned Alan carefully onto his stomach. Once placed properly and his back was disinfected, Dr. Guther held her hand out to the surgical aide. "Scalpel…"

The surgical aide obediently handed Dr. Guther the scalpel and everybody watched as she made the first incision after the skin was cleansed with hospital approved betadine. There was one nurse keeping a constant watch on Alan's vitals to make sure he wasn't about to awaken in the middle of surgery and to make sure he didn't react negatively to any of the pain medication or anesthesia. Dr. Guther focused heavily on what she was doing, keeping a keen eye on the clock but still focusing on her patient.

"Okay, we're in. Can I get a suction?" Dr. Guther asked as she noticed the bleeding. One of the nurses suctioned away the blood so that Dr. Guther could see what she was doing. Once through the skin and muscles that surrounded Alan's spinal column, Dr. Guther was able to take in the full severity of Alan's scoliosis. After taking a moment to fully assess her patient, Dr. Guther asked for the awl in which to puncture the spine enough to screw in the pedicle screws when ready. She focused on what she was doing, another of the nurses dabbing at her forehead on occasion to keep the sweat beading her forehead from dripping on her patient.

Glancing up at the time, Dr. Guther took notice they'd been in surgery for almost an hour. She had maybe two more hours until they were finished, but she wasn't going to rush. Rushing would have disastrous results and she wasn't a doctor that rushed, she took her time in order to ensure the health and safety of not only her patient but her team and herself.

Once she was done with the awl, Dr. Guther handed the tool back to her assistant and accepted the pedicle screws which she screwed into the little holes she placed along Alan's spinal column. A few of the surgical assistants grabbed their tools and helped Dr. Guther fasten the screws. They each worked meticulously on Alan, taking care not to be rough with him but using enough strength to fully tighten the screws.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, I believe we are almost ready to straighten." Dr. Guther said as she placed the last pedicle screw.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff could barely sit still in the waiting room, he was hoping and praying that Alan came out of this surgery all okay. Scott couldn't sit still and he paced back and forth through the room like a caged lion. John was barely sitting still as it was, Virgil was doing no better than Scott and he was jiggling his leg anxiously. He kept checking his watch every few moments and it was driving Jeff a little crazy. Gordon, he was sitting the most still out of all of them. He'd had back surgery before and he knew it took a long time. He had his head bowed and in his hands as though he were praying or asleep. Checking his watch, Jeff was astounded to find that Alan had already been in surgery for close to three hours.

Sending up a prayer to his beloved late wife to watch over their son, Jeff closed his eyes. He wondered how much longer Alan would be in surgery. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye when he opened his eyes and looked toward the door to see Dr. Guther. She was still wearing her cap and a different set of scrubs than she'd been wearing when she greeted Alan earlier that morning but it was the tired smile on her face that let Jeff release that breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding for who knows how long.

"Dr. Guther!" Jeff exclaimed which made each of his boys look up at the woman that had their brother's health in her hands.

"Alan made it through surgery just fine. My nurses are just moving him from the OR to recovery so he can come awake from the anesthesia." Dr. Guther said. "He should come awake in another hour or so, enough for us to move him to his room."

"What took so long?" Scott asked, he wasn't familiar with spinal surgeries and he hadn't had a desire to read up on the specifics of surgery. He just assumed it'd be about an hour with a little in out and done. But this surgery took a lot longer than he'd expected.

"Most spinal surgeries can take longer because we're dealing with a very delicate structure. One wrong move and your brother could be paralyzed. I prefer taking my time so as to make sure there are no mistakes made. I care more about the health of my patient than a time limit. It's rushing through that cause most errors. Spinal surgery has a certain finesse." Dr. Guther stated emphatically.

"Thank you for taking care of our baby brother." John said as he stood to shake Dr. Guther's hand.

"You are welcome. It's no trouble at all." Dr. Guther said before she tilted her head. "I'm going to be in my office writing up a report on your brother's surgery if you have any questions. I'll advise my head nurse to come and get you all once Alan is out of recovery."

Once Dr. Guther left, each of the Tracy's let out a collective breath knowing their youngest member had made it through surgery. Gordon wouldn't admit it when asked later, but he did whisper out a quiet "thank god" at the good news. He was always worried when it came to a spinal surgery because Dr. Guther was right. One wrong move and Alan could be a vegetable for the rest of his life. That was what worried Gordon the most. That was how he'd been told he'd never walk again. It wasn't his accident that made him unable to walk, it was his surgeon. Gordon had begged his dad to keep the fact that it was the surgery that left him unable to walk away from Alan.

Gordon's surgery had been rushed. The surgeon had something going on that he couldn't be late to and when he'd had to work on Gordon – he'd done a crap-tacular job. He'd made many errors, even going so far as to leave a clamp in Gordon's back which had been discovered the following day after surgery. Gordon filed a malpractice lawsuit and got that surgeon fired and his license revoked, but was told by every doctor he'd gone to following that disaster that he'd never walk again. Alan had been away at school a majority of the time that the malpractice lawsuit had been going on and Gordon hadn't wanted to distract his little brother from his studies, so he kept that fact under wraps as much as was possible.

Gordon dealt with severe depression following that surgery and had given up on ever walking again, that was until a doctor at UCLA Medical Center out of Los Angeles had heard about Gordon's case and contacted him. He asked Gordon if he'd be willing to take part in an experimental surgery. He hadn't told Gordon what they'd be experimenting on, but he told Gordon that there were possible benefits. Gordon hadn't cared either way if he did the surgery, he doubted he'd ever walk again and so he'd agreed. There wasn't much else that could be done to him short of removing his heart and making him part cyborg.

As a result, the experimental surgery placed a special type of element which would generate new cells that had been damaged in the last surgery and make them correct the damage. Gordon hadn't expected to feel sensations when he'd woken up after surgery and when he did he was terrified. He demanded to know what the doctor had done to him and was shocked to find out that the experimental surgery was to use a real life paralyzed person and use this device which was something outside the realm of comprehension for Gordon. Point was, it made Gordon able to feel sensations again and allowed him to learn how to walk again.

"I could go for a coffee, how about anyone else?" Virgil asked.

"Yeah, I could…but I think we need to have lunch. Dr. Guther said Alan could be in recovery for another hour. I'll give the nurse at the front desk our number and let her know we're going to get lunch so she can call us when Alan's out of recovery." Jeff said as he stood and herded his sons along.

"Fine." Was the collective reply from each son, they all walked along, each looking back in the direction of the surgical theatre that Alan had been in.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

When Alan came awake in recovery, he was still lying on his stomach and his arms were laid above his head. His whole body was throbbing. He struggled to keep his eyes open and he groaned audibly not noticing the nurse that sat in the corner of the room stand and come to his aid.

"Alan, how are you doing?" The nurse asked softly. She checked Alan's vitals and leaned down to meet Alan's eyes. He was having trouble focusing on her, but she expected it. He'd just woken up from the anesthesia. He was expected to be groggy. "Can you tell me why you're in the hospital?"

Alan mumbled something incoherent and the nurse couldn't decipher what he said. She nodded understandingly to the teen when he said something garbled. She checked Alan's back briefly before she contacted Dr. Guther. It was time to notify family that their patient was awake. True he wasn't coherent yet, but maybe once he was moved into his room and could see a familiar face or two he'd come about.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

When Alan opened his eyes, he was in a room he didn't recognize. He dragged his eyes from one part of the room to another and when he moved his head slightly it occurred to him how bad an idea that was, it made his whole body hurt. He groaned at the pain and made the choice to hold perfectly still. A woman came forward and Alan's wonky vision made her really fuzzy. She moved slowly and when she spoke her voice was distorted. He couldn't understand anything she was saying.

She leaned down into his face and Alan would swear he was looking at his long dead mother, not that anyone would believe him if he told anyone. He blinked slowly, working with every bit of strength he had to keep his eyes open. Suddenly Dr. Guther was there and she was smiling at him. He couldn't understand anything she was saying either. It was a long drawn out question that echoed in his head but made not a bit of sense.

"Hurts…" Alan said or thought he said because he saw Dr. Guther scrunch up her eye brows. He tried to tell her his whole body was hurting and he might have shed a couple tears but he wouldn't remember any of this later on.

Dr. Guther said something to him and made Alan think of the teacher in the Peanuts cartoon. That odd distorted voice was all he was hearing. He saw a syringe and heard Dr. Guther say something to him before suddenly he saw darkness and nothing else.

The next time he came awake, he was in a different room and this time was surrounded by his family. He noticed the light filtering the room was an early morning light. He moved his fingers and touched the display on Gordon's watch. The face of the watch lit up to tell Alan it was seven in the morning. He couldn't move his head, it hurt to even think about it. He noticed the red head was asleep at the head of the bed, head resting beside Alan's head and arms stretched out similarly to his own.

He could hear snoring around the room and it lulled him to sleep once more. He didn't understand why he was so sleepy.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Gordon came awake and sat up with a groan. A hand trailed back to his neck and he massaged until he felt a pop. Looking around, Gordon noticed how each of his family was still asleep. Alan was still out like a light though someone had come in at some point and changed the position of Alan's legs so he didn't get pressure sores.

Standing, Gordon stretched his arms above his head before deciding to make his way to the lavatory. It'd let him walk around and stretch the kinks out of his back but would also let him wake up. He lightly ran his fingers through his little brother's maize blond hair before he stepped out of the room.

He walked down the hall to the restroom and did what he needed to before going to the machine by the nurse's station to get a coffee. It tasted like crap but it'd wake him up. He returned to his brother's room after his third cup and sat beside Alan, waiting for him to wake up. He had grabbed a piece of paper before he left the nurse's station and made a paper airplane with it after reclaiming his seat. Looking around the room, Gordon decided he needed some company. He lightly tossed the paper airplane and watched it glide over to hit Virgil in the chest. Normally he was a heavy sleeper, but this time he came awake as soon as the nose of the airplane crashed into him.

"Huh? What?" Virgil asked as he came awake and sat up with a start. He cast a quick glance around the room, spotting Gordon awake on the other side of the bed. "Gordon? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Yeah, time for me to have company." Gordon said with a bored sigh. "Come on, I'm dying from boredom over here. Sleeping beauty hasn't woken up once since he left recovery."

"He just had a major surgery. I don't blame him for sleeping like a log." Virgil said as he mimicked Gordon and stood up to stretch. "Oh god, I need some coffee."

"There's a machine by the nurse's station that has coffee." Gordon said before he returned his gaze on his little brother turned sleeping beauty. He wished he had a feather to tickle Alan's nose with but he knew his dad nor any of his other brothers wouldn't approve.

"I'll be right back." Virgil said before he stepped out of the room. He returned a few moments later, holding a Styrofoam cup of coffee, black with little sugar. It was Virgil's signature cup of coffee. Gordon himself preferred coffee with lots of creamer and barely any sugar. John was weird and preferred tea or hot chocolate in the mornings as opposed to coffee and Scott would practically run on coffee if allowed. "That's better."

Gordon and Virgil whispered back and forth, watched each of their family members wake up, everyone except for Alan. He was still out cold and they wondered if he was okay. Dr. Guther came in to check on her patient and she reassured the worried family that he would wake up when he was ready.

By the time it was five in the evening, Alan seemed to be awakening. He would groan every couple of seconds and twitch lightly before he'd still of any movement. When he did come awake, he dragged his heavy lidded eyes open to see his other blonde brother.

"Well, look who's awake!" John exclaimed softly. He garnered the attention of all of their family who crowded around Alan to see their youngest was awake and looked a little groggy still but not so bad as he'd been the day prior. "You awake yet?"

Alan simply looked at John, blinking slow as he tried to come awake from his stupor. He dragged his eyes from John's face to meet the eyes of his dad and when he saw the worry on his dad's face he gave a small whimper. Jeff was quick to comfort his youngest though and he worked his way through the sea of bodies that were his sons before he crouched down to meet Alan's eyes.

"How're you feeling son?" Jeff asked as he rubbed his thumb along Alan's cheek. "Are you in any pain?"

"Sore." Alan mumbled as he squeezed his dad's hand when offered.

"I know, you had surgery yesterday. You're gonna be sore for a little while yet." Jeff said as he smiled to his son.

"When can I go home?" Alan asked as he looked away from his dad before he looked to Scott. "I want to go home."

"You'll need to stay in here for a few days Alan, as soon as your health checks out we can discharge you to go home." Dr. Guther said from the doorway before she knocked lightly to announce her presence. The door was opened and she heard Alan's question from the doorway. She stepped in and closed the door before she walked over to Alan's bed. "I wanted to check your stitches if you feel up to it and change your IV. It looks like you could use some more saline."

Alan nodded slightly giving his permission to Dr. Guther to open his gown and inspect his back. Nobody said anything about Alan's family being present, it was established earlier before the surgery took place that Alan's family wanted to be involved in everything involving Alan's care and post-surgical care. They peeked over Dr. Guther's shoulders as the woman opened Alan's gown and carefully peeled back the bandages that'd been placed over Alan's back. There was bruising, the skin looked delicate and the stitches looked tight and itchy.

Scott swallowed thickly at the sight and grimaced. He wished more than anything that he could have taken this from his brother. There was no reason for someone so young to have to deal with something of this magnitude. He directed a sorrowful gaze at his other brothers and could see their faces reflected his own. Gordon especially.

"Your stitches look really good Alan." Dr. Guther said as she went about re-covering Alan's stitches. "Another day or two and you can begin to move."

"Do I have to?" Alan groaned as he closed his eyes tiredly.

"Stay still? Yes, we want to make sure everything fuses like it's supposed to so we don't cause damage." Dr. Guther said before she paused.

"No, move." Alan asked before yawning. "Do I have to move? Can I just stay still?"

"You'll want to move after a bit, but not now. For now, we'll move a TV into your vision in case you want to watch anything. But in the meantime, spend some time with your family and by all means rest. You'll find you're pretty tired, but that's quite common especially following a big surgery like yours." Dr. Guther said as she tied the strings of Alan's gown shut once more. "When we're close to Alan's discharge, I'll have one of my nurses come get you to educate you all on scoliosis post-surgical care."

"Thank you Dr. Guther." Jeff said, watching as Dr. Guther went to the sink in Alan's room to wash her hands after she removed her gloves. The family crowded around Alan's bed and talked to him for a while longer until it became obvious that Alan had reached his limit.

"Do you want me to go get a nurse to give you some more meds for the pain?" Gordon asked as he noticed his little brother's face had gone white as a sheet. The redhead frowned when Alan shook his head lightly. "What do you need?"

"I don't feel good Gords." Alan sniffed as his bottom lip trembled minutely. He was in pain, he was hungry and he felt sick to his stomach. On top of that he felt like crying and he was a freaking teenage boy for Pete's sake! He shouldn't feel like wanting to cry, but he did.

"What can I do?" Gordon asked. He was familiar with what Alan was feeling, he'd felt the same things after his own surgery.

"I want a hug…and a trashcan…" Alan whimpered. Scott stood to leave and find a nurse that could get Alan something to eat as well as to give Alan some more pain meds. He'd heard his baby brother retch just as he closed the door to award his brother some privacy while he went to find a nurse that could help his brother.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Wandering the halls, Scott finally found the nurses station and he went to find someone that was familiar with his brother. When he walked up a blonde nurse that was sitting at the counter smiled up at him. Scott checked her name badge before he saw her name was Danni.

"Hello, how can I help you?" The nurse asked.

"Yeah, Nurse Danni – can you check on my brother's pain meds for me? He's in 333 and he was complaining earlier of hurting. And can we find him something to eat? He was throwing up when I left because I think he is a little sick to his stomach. He hasn't eaten since before midnight the day before yesterday." Scott explained when he looked back in the direction of his brother's hall.

"Yeah, let me check your brother's chart very quick to see what kind of diet he's allowed." Nurse Danni answered as she pulled up Alan's file on her computer. She read for a few moments before nodding to herself. "Your brother is gonna be on a liquid diet until tomorrow at the earliest depending on what level nausea he's suffering. Let's go check your brother's pain meds, then I'll go down to the kitchen to get your brother some broth, gelatin and some juice."

Scott nodded slowly to himself before he followed Danni back up the hall to Alan's room. They both entered slowly. Scott expected to hear Alan continually retching but he was surprised to hear Alan mumbling to their family.

"Your brother said you weren't feeling too hot. Can you rate your pain for me Alan?" Danni asked as she went to the cabinet located in Alan's room to retrieve a syringe of pain medications that'd been approved for Alan. "On a scale of 1 to 10?"

"I'd rate it at a 13." Alan said softly as he leaned his head into Virgil's hands. When he'd been sick earlier, his brothers and dad had practically flocked around him – everyone wanting to do something for him to make him feel better. Gordon held a trashcan for his brother when he'd begun to be sick, John shushed and murmured comforting non-sensicals to keep Alan calm despite his attempts at trying to turn his stomach inside out. Virgil kept pushing his hair out of his face and rubbing Alan's shoulders. Jeff kept up a reassuring monologue of 'you're fine', 'it's okay's, 'it'll be over in a moment.' Once it was all over, his brothers had calmed considerably and Alan felt better after being sick.

"Well, this should make you feel a little better. Dr. Guther plans to utilize multimodal pain management to control your pain." Danni said as she injected the syringe of pain medications into Alan's IV line. She sighed softly after she dropped the used syringe in the SHARPS container. "You should begin to feel better in a few moments. In the meantime, I want to know what you'd like to have for dinner?"

"I guess nothing isn't on the menu." Alan mumbled. Just because he felt better after being sick, didn't mean he felt like eating.

"No, but I believe broth is on the menu and I wanted to know what kind you wanted; chicken or beef?" Danni inquired as she crouched beside Alan's bed and made eye contact with him.

Alan didn't look amused and he curled his lip at the mentions of broth.

"Got to pick a flavor kiddo." Scott whispered when he saw the look of disgust on his brother's face.

When it seemed like Alan wasn't going to select a flavor of broth, Gordon piped up for his brother.

"He'll have chicken." Gordon said despite having holes burned into his person by the death glare from Alan.

Danni nodded before she left to go retrieve the broth for Alan to eat. She knew it wasn't advisable to take the pain medication on an empty stomach, but when she had left her desk with Scott she'd brought in a peppermint candy for Alan to suck on in the meantime. Peppermint was good at calming an upset stomach and it was okay to have hard candies when on a liquid diet.

She was only gone about ten minutes and when she returned, she carried a tray with apple juice, chicken broth, and orange flavored gelatin. She smiled to Alan when she produced a straw for Alan. The teenage boy, no matter how poor he felt or how crappy his mood – he couldn't stay mad at Danni or Gordon. He smiled at Danni when she offered him a dimpled smile.

"Take a bit of this okay sweetie?" Danni asked as she carefully held the bowl for Alan and brought the straw to his lips.

Alan sucked up some of the broth and he couldn't contain the sigh of contentment when the broth reached his stomach. Thank you was on his lips when suddenly Danni's beeper started beeping. Danni pulled the straw from Alan and set down the broth bowl to hurry from the room. John watched as the nurse hurried from the room and saw the look of disappointment on his brother's face at having his broth taken away. He took sympathy on the younger boy and he scooped up the bowl of broth and let his brother have the straw back.

"Thanks John." Alan said around the straw. When he finished his broth, John traded the straw out of the empty broth bowl to the cup of apple juice. Alan sipped on that intermittently as he and his family spent time with each other.

When it got late, Alan struggled to keep his eyes open. His dad leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple before he stepped back.

"Alright boys, let's let your brother get some sleep. I think he's had enough excitement for today." Jeff said as he began to gather the boys to leave the room and let Alan get some sleep. Alan reached out and snagged the loop on Gordon's jeans. The redhead halted in movement and stared back at their family.

"I think I should stay." When the rest of the family stopped, they looked back at Gordon to see that he was dead serious. There was no joking in his tone. "Guys, I've had back surgery before. I know what to expect with this. He's going to have a lot more of what he had earlier. The pain, the getting sick, the inability to move, the morphine, the liquid diet. Guys, he's going to need physical therapy here soon and I don't want him to deal with that alone. He was there for me when I was in his place, now I'm going to be there for him. You guys go on, but I'm staying here."

Jeff looked back at Gordon before he nodded slowly in understanding. "You do what you have to son."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was during the night that Gordon was woken up by whimpering. He sat up from where he'd slouched down in his seat to come closer to his brother. He placed the back of his hand against Alan's forehead and frowned. Alan was running a fever and though it didn't feel very high, it still concerned Gordon. He lightly ruffled Alan's hair before he left the room to notify a nurse of Alan's raised temperature.

The halls were deserted and Gordon could hear distant beeps from the rooms that had their doors open. Looking from left to right, Gordon went left and walked slow until he rounded the corner to see the nurse's station. He could see Danni from earlier holding her coat and talking to one of the other nurses. Taking in a breath, Gordon stepped into view.

"Gordon, I didn't know you were still here." Danni said as she noticed Gordon first.

"Yeah, the others went to our apartment. I didn't feel comfortable with leaving Alan alone in the hospital, especially with it being his first night being coherent." Gordon said as he scratched the back of his head with a shrug. He seemed wiser beyond his years in that moment, but what stood before the nurses was a worried older brother that was still only nineteen years old.

"Is everything okay?" Danni asked as she laid her jacket on the counter.

"I don't think so…Alan seems to have a bit of a temperature and I…can you just come check on him for me? Please?" Gordon asked tentatively. He hated having to draw Danni away from heading home, but he was more concerned with his brother's health.

"Certainly." Danni said before she began to follow Gordon when she was stopped by the nurse that had been talking to Danni.

"Go on home Danni, I can take care of this. Billy's been wanting you to tuck him in for three months now." The nurse said softly as she grabbed Danni's jacket and walked around the counter to hand to her colleague. "Go on."

"Thank you Becky." Danni said softly as Becky handed her the jacket she'd laid down previously. "It's a little late to be tucking him in, but i'm sure he'll wake up when I check on him."

Gordon led Becky back towards Alan's room and he swallowed nervously as he led the matronly nurse into his brother's room.

Becky walked over to Alan after retrieving a thermometer and she checked him gently. Her young charge didn't even notice having his temperature taken. Gordon sat idly by, waiting and hoping the nurse would speak soon. He was all too relieved when she did.

"Well, he's got a little temperature, but nothing like I was expecting." Becky murmured softly. She turned to Gordon to speak to him. "He's got a low grade temperature. It's nothing to be concerned with. Low grade fevers are normal following surgery. I'll be concerned if it goes any higher."

"How long?" Gordon asked softly.

"His fever will be up and down for a few days. Some days it will be high, others it'll be low then it'll break over time." Becky replied softly as she tucked the blankets in around Alan. "I'll take note of his temperature and I'll come back in in a few hours to make sure he's doing okay."

"Thank you." Gordon whispered as he sank down in his previously vacated seat. Becky smiled at him as she left the room.

"Call if you need anything." Becky said before she closed the door.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan awoke slowly the following morning and grimaced as he felt the mental fog leave his head. He dragged his eyes open and saw his brother Gordon sleeping in the chair next to his bed. He drew in a breath and smacked his lips.

"G-Gordo…Gordo…wake up. Gordo!" Alan said, raising his voice every little bit. Gordon woke up with a start and looked at his brother after shaking his head.

"Alan, is everything okay?" Gordon's voice was rough from sleep. He leaned forward to talk with his brother.

"I'm thirsty." Alan whispered softly. "Can I have water?"

"Yeah, buddy. Of course." Gordon said as he picked up the pitcher of iced water and poured some into Alan's cup. He lowered the straw into Alan's mouth and watched with a light smile as his little brother drank deeply. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm sore." Alan said as shifted minutely. It's all he could afford to do.

"That's to be expected kiddo. You're going to be sore for a little while longer." Gordon said as he saw more than felt Alan trying to move. "You shouldn't move kiddo."

"I'm not comfortable on my stomach. Can't I lay on my side?" Alan asked as he shifted his arms and legs while his torso remained stationary.

"Sorry kiddo, you'll need to stay on your stomach for a little while." Gordon said as he lowered the bedrail to sit beside his brother. He gently laid his hand along Alan's forehead and was satisfied to feel Alan's temperature had lowered significantly. "You had a fever last night, had me worried."

"Am I gonna be okay?" Alan asked softly.

"Yeah, you're fine. Becky said that's normal to have a low grade fever following surgery." Gordon said as he tilted his head to talk to Alan. "You remember how my temp was crazy after my surgery?"

"Yeah, you were roasting one minute and freezing the next. Kept me on my toes." Alan replied as he remembered pulling the blankets up over Gordon because of complaints that he was cold before peeling those same blankets off his brother barely ten minutes later when the redhead complained of being too hot. It drove Alan crazy then, but he understood.

"Yeah, last night your temp was up but not too high and it'd dropped sometime within midnight and now." Gordon said as he arched his back to give a long stretch.

"I'd give anything to stretch right now." Alan murmured as he watched Gordon enjoy his stretch.

"No you don't, boy that would hurt worse than that time you sliced your hand open on that obsidian rock you thought would be cool to juggle." Gordon said.

"I wasn't juggling, I simply tossed it from one hand to another and the stupid rock cut me." Alan argued without heat.

"Alan, I was there. Remember? Your teacher asked me to bring some rocks in from Hawaii that one time I went on vacation and I distinctly remember you fleeing the room leaving a trail of blood in your wake. And that cut was bad enough that you needed 16 stitches. You juggled that fricken obsidian rock." Gordon said with a roll of his eyes. "I was lucky your ecology teacher didn't pass out after the amount of blood you spilt. She paled and looked like she was going to pass out, but I took care of the clean-up and I took you to the infirmary to get the stitches."

"Fine, whatever you say. I juggled, though I didn't actually do as you remember it." Alan said with a light shake of his head. "I don't even know how to juggle."

"Knock, knock!"

Gordon looked over while Alan managed to turn his head to look in the opposite direction from where he'd been looking previous.

"Well, look who's awake!" The nurse Becky said as she entered the room and went about writing Alan's vitals on his chart. "How're you feeling Alan?"

"I'm sore, kinda hungry." Alan mumbled. "And I'm still really thirsty."

"Well I'll say. You must have sweat a lot during the night." Becky commented as she noticed Alan's gown were slightly damp and his bangs were sticking to his forehead. Becky checked Alan's temp and nodded. It was indeed down quite a bit, but still present. She checked Alan for fever and was satisfied that his temp was below 100. "Let me see about getting you some more iced water and some breakfast."

Alan smiled at her as she left with a light pat to the back of his head.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Dr. Guther entered the room and smiled at Alan when she saw he was watching a video on Gordon's cell phone. She hadn't seen any of Alan's family come in yet and she wondered where they all were.

"Knock, knock." Dr. Guther announced, prompting Alan and Gordon to look in her direction. "Well, good morning sleepy head."

Alan smiled at the doctor as best he could. He was still somewhat sore from surgery, Gordon assured him that he'd be sore until the bruising went away and his body adjusted to having been cut open and surgically altered.

"How's your pain?" Dr. Guther asked as she picked up Alan's chart from the foot of his bed and flipped through them, reading the notes left by Danni and Becky.

' _11:30pm – Checked temperature, had a fever of 101.3._

 _12:00am – Checked on Alan again, fever remains the same and provided a low dose of pain medication._

 _1:00am – Checked Alan again, fever dropped to 101.2, checked collection bag and output is good_

 _2:00am – Checked Alan and his fever is down to 100.4, started another bag of saline_

 _4:00am – Adjusted Alan's leg position to prevent bedsores_

 _6:00am – Checked Alan's fever, it's back down to 98.8 degrees, will monitor frequently_

"My back is sore and so are my hips, but I can't do much more than adjust my legs when I get uncomfortable…I guess." Alan mumbled as he shifted his hips slightly to the left.

"Actually, I think it's high time to change your position, get you up and walking around a little." Dr. Guther said as she made note of it in Alan's charts. "I'll have a nurse's assistant come in with Danni and they'll get you up and walking around your room for a few minutes."

"Do I have to walk?" Alan asked. Walking right now just did not seem feasible.

"Yes, it'll get you to change positions and it should make your back feel better. Laying down and walking are both known for alleviating the pain associated to surgery." Dr. Guther commented before she gathered her supplies to check Alan's stitches and drain. She peeled back the light covering and nodded to herself before noticing Gordon was looking at Alan's back also.

Gordon caught Dr. Guther watching him and he gave a shrug.

"I've had back surgery before, I was counting the stitches Alan's got. See if he had more than I did." Gordon admitted.

"I gave him 45 stitches, not including the internal stitches that'll dissolve over time." Dr. Guther admitted.

"I had 36 external stitches." Gordon said and when Dr. Guther tilted her head in question, Gordon explained. "A little over a year ago, I was involved in a Hydrofoil accident with my WASP team. I broke a couple vertebrae and was pretty badly wounded. A doctor did surgery to repair my broken vertebra and when he finished, he sewed me up. I was told I'd never walk again."

"And yet here you are." Dr. Guther said with a soft smile at her patient's brother that defied medical odds and overcame the hurdles.

Gordon nodded before he did something he never does. Only his family has ever seen the scar from his surgery and since they were talking about scars, Gordon decided to show the doctor his. He turned in his seat and pulled his shirt up over his shoulders and showed Dr. Guther his back and felt when she leaned against his chair to inspect his surgical scars.

"Impressive, you didn't by any chance have a surgery under a doctor by the name of Dr. Mullins did you?" Dr. Guther asked as she inspected Gordon's back.

"I did, he was a doctor at UCLA Medical Center in LA. How'd you guess?" Gordon asked as he dropped his shirt back into place and looked at the good doctor.

"We serve on a medical board together and he asked me to stand in and assist him with an experimental surgery on a young man about a year and a half ago. I thought you looked familiar." Dr. Guther said to which Gordon's jaw dropped.

"You were there?" Gordon asked in surprise. He noticed Alan was watching them both as they communicated. "How?"

"Dr. Mullins was my sponsor during my tenure at UCLA, he taught me what I know about surgeries and everything I know." Dr. Guther said before she realized she needed to get Danni in with an aid to get Alan up and walking around. "I'll be back in a bit."

Gordon sat in silence as it occurred to him just how much Dr. Guther changed not only Alan's life, but quite possibly his too. He'd read reviews on Dr. Guther online and she'd gotten rave reviews. Previous patients sang her praises on how efficient she was in her surgeries and the bed manner she had with her patients and their family members.

"I didn't know you had another surgery." Alan replied softly, bringing Gordon's attention back to Earth.

"Hmm?" Gordon asked softly.

"I didn't know you had another surgery after I went back to school. Nobody told me that." Alan said, feeling a little hurt that he'd been kept out of the loop.

"Yeah, don't think about it too much. Only dad knew I had that other surgery. I didn't tell anyone else." Gordon said as he leaned forward to talk with Alan.

"Why?" Alan asked a little miffed that he hadn't been told.

"I didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. Dad knew because he's the one that took me out to UCLA, the others just think I worked my ass off with therapy." Gordon said. "I didn't want you to know because I didn't want you to get excited for nothing if it didn't work. I think you were just as devastated as I was if not more so when I was initially told I'd never walk again."

"You could have told me though." Alan said.

"Yeah, well…no point about being mad over a thing of the past." Gordon said right as Danni and a nursing assistant entered the room after a brief knock on the door.

"Well Alan, looks like you get to walk around for a bit. Aren't you excited?" Danni asked with a bright smile.

"Not really, can I just stay laying down. It's really comfortable." Alan said, not desiring to get up and walk around. He wasn't lazy, he just didn't fancy feeling whatever pain would quite possibly hit him like a mac truck when he stood up and his center of gravity changed.

"Oh none of that. You'll find it'll actually feel a lot better than laying down once you get used to it." Danni said before she squeezed past Gordon to prepare Alan for standing. She and the nursing assistant both worked together to roll Alan from his stomach to his side before easing him up to sit on the edge of the bed. He was biting his lip at the pressure on his stitches, but didn't voice it.

"Okay Alan, you're going to hold my hands and Angela is going to help you to stand up." Danni said before she and Angela prepared Alan to stand.

"Can Gordon help me?" Alan asked, looking to his brother just past Danni's shoulder.

"Sure, Gordon you want to come take my place and I'll help Angela get Alan standing?" Danni said to which Gordon jumped in and held Alan's hands. "So Gordon, you're not going to pull Alan up. You're just there to help him pull himself up while Angela and I lift him to a standing position. Alan, don't push yourself too far, if you feel weak or dizzy, let us know and we'll let you rest."

"Yes Danni." Gordon and Alan both agreed before Danni and Angela told them that on the count of three Alan should be up and standing.

"One, two, three." Danni, Angela and Gordon counted out loud before Alan was standing. The younger boy was clutching at Gordon's hands and Gordon remained steady.

"You feeling okay bro?" Gordon asked as he looked at his little brother whose eyes were slightly misted. Alan nodded before he took a deep breath.

"Okay, now what?" Alan asked as he refused to let his grip on Gordon's hands go lax.

"Take it easy, when you feel ready, take a small step." Danni instructed softly.

Alan looked dubiously at the suggestion of walking, but nonetheless he took a baby step forward and felt as Gordon, Danni and Angela moved with him.

Taking another step, Alan smiled slightly. It may have only been three days since he'd had surgery, but he'd forgotten what it felt like to walk.

"You doing okay Alan?" Danni asked as she let go to leave Angela and Gordon to support Alan. She moved over and grabbed Alan's IV stand, dragging it along.

"Yeah, this does feel good." Alan smiled honestly as he took a few more steps. He was getting ready to finish a circuit around his room.

"Do you want to attempt going down the hall and back?" Danni asked, to which Alan almost said yes to until he realized his gown was one of those open in the back gowns.

"Can I have a robe or a different gown?" Alan asked, blush shining on his cheeks.

"I'll get you a different change of gowns in a few." Danni said, leaving the promise hanging in the air.

"I'd much prefer not mooning the rest of the hospital." Alan said evenly.

He walked around his room for a while longer until he'd grown tired. Danni, Angela and Gordon helped him back to bed and this time he was allowed to lay on his side with a pillow between his knees. Danni asked Gordon to step out of the room for a moment, not telling the older brother that she and Angela were going to remove Alan's catheter now that he was ambulatory. When Gordon was allowed back in the room, he smiled at Alan as his kid brother napped. Alan was no longer wearing the gown and was instead wearing a pair of scrub pants and a shirt that had snaps in the back.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The next time Alan saw his family, he was surprised by his brothers having brought in their gaming station from the apartment and hooking it up for him to play for a bit. It'd keep him focused on something other than the pain after his surgery.

"I'm gonna win Virgil." Alan hissed as he and Virgil raced around the racetrack in their little Mario karts. Virgil let Alan have his favorite character Mario while Alan delegated he be Peach. They both had been playing for the last hour and it was doing well to keep Alan occupied. "Yes, I win!"

Jeff sat beside Alan's bed and smiled despite reading his emails. His sons could be amusing most of the time, pain in the asses only ¼ of the time.

Jeff could hardly believe that Alan had been in the hospital for three days. Like Becky said would happen, Alan's fever had fluctuated from extreme to non-extreme and just like Gordon predicted Alan had been sick a few times. The nurses were graduating him up to solid food the longer he tolerated solids. He was doing pretty good for the most part, the drain in his back was showing promise of Alan soon being discharged. The fluid buildup hadn't happened too badly due to the immediate drain placed following surgery. Alan would have been discharged sooner if he'd been able to hold down food better, but because of his stomach being queasy following surgery that had been a work in progress.

His other sons had gone on a food run, having gotten tired of cafeteria food. They promised to sneak some fries in for Alan if he'd been able to hold down his orange juice from this morning and he'd done it well.

"Hey dad, when can I go home?" Alan asked, voice muffled by his pillow. He thankfully was no longer in the gown, but had been given a pair of scrub pants and a shirt that snapped in the back. Alan was happy to not be in the gown anymore and he'd given a light cheer when he didn't have to use a blanket to cover his modesty. He'd graduated from his gown after a stern disagreement about walking around his room and down the hall following surgery. He felt embarrassed that his behind had been on display, but Dr. Guther said he could have a different hospital issued clothing since he felt uncomfortable in the gown.

"Dr. Guther said that if you can keep lunch and dinner down today then she'd see about discharging you tomorrow." Jeff said as he glanced over top of his reading glasses. "And if you feel sick, I don't want you to fight it because you want to go home. I'd rather you be here if you aren't feeling good than to get home and have to fly back in because of a problem. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Alan said softly.

When Dr. Guther came in about an hour later, she removed the dressing from Alan's back and checked that everything was doing well. The stitches were doing well and Dr. Guther put a note in Alan's charts to schedule an appointment to have them removed a few days from the surgical date. She redressed Alan's wound using steri strips and before she left she asked Jeff into the hall to have him go make the appointment for Alan.

When the patriarch returned he brought his other sons in and true to their word, Scott snuck some fries in for Alan and the younger boy took great pleasure consuming those. So far they agreed with his stomach and for that he was happy. He loved fries, it would have been a shame to not be able to stomach them.

"Well Alan, looks like Dr. Guther is planning to discharge you tomorrow. She wants us to stay close though since in a few days you'll get your stitches removed." Jeff said as he saw Alan smile excitedly at the prospect of being discharged.

"Really? I can get out of here?" Alan asked, glee barely withheld from his voice.

"Yes, but the regulation still stands. You need to keep your food down where it belongs." Jeff mandated.

"I will dad, I swear!" Alan said, his voice rising slightly in octave.

"Good." Jeff said before Gordon interrupted.

"Now, how about we shelf the video games and watch a movie? I know for certain you've wanted to watch this movie blondie and you weren't able to see it when it was in theatres." Gordon held up a disk that he'd rented after seeing an advertisement of it at the local video store. Alan had been stuck at school when the movie was in theatres and his school had a closed campus policy. Meaning they weren't allowed to leave campus for anything unless directly removed by a parent or guardian. Gordon planned to get Alan for the weekend that it was in theatres and to keep him at their apartment for the two-day weekend but he'd gotten held up by a rescue and wasn't able to make it back in time. He hadn't broken a promise to Alan, hadn't planned to even tell him he was gonna spring him from the school. But he was disappointed that he'd missed the movie.

"How'd you know Gordo?" Alan asked with a smile.

"Well, we kind of have the same taste in movies kiddo. I know for certain you mentioned this movie a few times but you never told me how excited you were for it." Gordon said as he ruffled Alan's hair playfully. "You need to comb your hair kid; it looks like a rat's nest."

"It's kind of hard to keep my hair from getting tangled when all I can do is lay down." Alan said with a roll of his eyes.

"Well you could shave it like mine." Scott suggested. His hair was the standard air force cut. It looked good on Scott, but Alan didn't think he'd look good with short hair.

"Come near my hair with a razor and you'll be eating that razor. I swear to God." Alan hissed.

"Nobody is going anywhere near anybody with a razor and you will not shove it down your brother's throat if they do young man." Jeff said, order not angry but defeated. That was one thing he'd be happy about when Alan was fully healed. Sure his youngest had a temper to start with, but he wasn't one of those that handled pain well. Alan could be as mean as a buck shot grizzly bear if he was in enough pain which since his surgery wasn't too bad considering the medications he was on. But when his pain meds wore off, he was insufferable like now. "I'm gonna call the nurse and see about getting your next dose ready."

Alan nodded at that but didn't argue. Since having his bandages changed, he did hurt. But he was trying not to say anything to his family.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was the next day that Alan had been waiting for, Dr. Guther had just come in with his discharge papers and Alan couldn't be happier. Sure he was gonna have to take it easy for several weeks, but he would finally be out of the hospital.

"Okay Alan, let's get you disconnected." Danni said with a smile as she helped Alan to roll onto his side. Danni checked Alan's vitals, listening again to the sounds of Alan's stomach to make sure everything was in order for the boy. The catheter had been removed two days ago when Alan had started walking up and down the hall so he was able to make it to the bathroom on his own. Danni had been instrumental in Alan's recovery thus far, understanding when Alan had whispered to her that he wasn't able to go like normal and she talked with Dr. Guther who prescribed him the necessary medicines he needed without advertising the problem to anyone but Jeff. The father understood and he'd herded his sons from the room so Alan could have privacy with his nurse.

"Yes please." Alan said as he held his hand out to Danni while she went about removing the IV from Alan's hand and placing a Band-Aid on his hand to contain any blood that seeped out after the removal of the needle.

"There we go." Danni said before she took Alan's hand like practiced and helped him to sit up. It wasn't necessary per se, but Alan still occasionally asked for help from the nurse. "Alright, up we go."

Alan stood up with Danni's help and stood still while he let his balance find him.

"Are you okay?" Danni asked carefully.

"Yeah, just slightly dizzy." Alan said as he opened his eyes before taking a step. Danni remained close by his side and he smiled at the nurse when she suggested they get him dressed to leave. Alan felt embarrassed that he still couldn't bend over, but it was understandable. He'd continue to be stiff for a while longer since he wasn't even eight days' post op. He let Danni help him with getting his boxers and sweatpants on, but after that he softly asked if he could do it himself. Danni stepped back to let Alan stand and pull his sweat pants up before he accepted the proffered shirt. He was slow to dress, but once the shirt was on, he offered a brave smile.

Sure it still hurt a little and he knew he'd be sore for a while yet, but he knew he'd get better over time.

"Okay, let me cover those little piggies' and then we'll put your slippers on before we blow this Popsicle stand." Danni smiled to Alan as she knelt down to put on Alan's socks and slippers. After that she instructed Alan to wait there while she went to get a wheelchair. Alan didn't need it per se, but hospital policy mandated that to prevent a lawsuit – all patients were to use a wheelchair when exiting the hospital.

Alan fiddled with his hospital bracelet as he sat on the side of his bed for those few moments of alone time. He looked around the room, disbelieving that this had been his home for the last six days. He saw the five chairs scattered around the small room, indicative that he had a lot of visitors over the last few days. He smiled at the childish gift from the nurses that was a stuffed Dalmatian puppy from the hospital gift shop. He was fourteen years old, much too old for a stuffed animal. But he appreciated the gesture. He reached out and grabbed the stuffed Dalmatian and gave it a squeeze. He still found it hard to believe that almost a week had passed since he'd had spinal surgery to repair the abnormal curvatures in his back.

He feared going back to school and being made fun of in the pool or locker room, didn't want anyone to see the scar that ran from the lowest part of his back to right below his neck. Dr. Guther had shown him and the family the X-rays from before and after surgery and Alan was amazed at the difference. The curve, though still slightly present when someone knew to look for it wasn't that visible to the naked eye. Even Alan had a hard time seeing it himself. Dr. Guther had taken before and after pictures of Alan's torso posteriorly and anteriorly and the difference there was noticeable also.

In all the time he'd thought to himself, he didn't notice Danni's return until she'd snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Hello, earth to Alan?" Danni asked with a bemused smile. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Alan replied, voice shaky as thousands of questions ran through his head. ' _Would he still be able to play basketball his sophomore year of high school, what about soccer, would girls still find him attractive knowing he had surgery to correct his misshapen spine, what about the Thunderbirds?'_

He didn't dare voice those questions though. He stayed quiet as Danni pushed his chair out of his room and into the hall towards the elevator. When they made it to the front admission desk, Alan smiled at his dad who'd just finished the last form signing Alan out of the hospital.

"You ready to go son?" Jeff asked as he looked to his youngest that despite his age and height, looked small sitting in that wheelchair.

"Yeah dad. Can we go?" Alan asked timidly. It's not that he didn't like Danni, Becky or Dr. Guther but he'd had enough of hospitals and being woken up intermittently by nurses checking his vitals. He just wanted to go home and sleep in his own bed. But what he really wanted most? A big fat cheeseburger.

Danni pushed Alan's wheelchair outside of the hospital and put on the brakes when they reached the family vehicle. John opened the door and stood by when Alan insisted on getting in the car by himself. He braced himself against the arms of the wheelchair and pushed up until he was standing he took a couple steps until he needed someone to hold onto him as he stepped up onto the running board. Scott was there with a hand on Alan's hip as he maneuvered getting into the car. Once in, Scott leaned around Alan and fastened the kid's seatbelt.

"Thank you for all you've done Danni." Jeff said as he shook her hand and Dr. Guther's hand after she stepped out to see Alan off.

"It was no problem at all Mr. Tracy. I'm just glad that we were able to help Alan." Dr. Guther said as she shook everyone's hands including Alan's. "You take it easy Alan and I'll see you in a few days when we remove your stitches."

"Thank you Dr. Guther, thank you." Alan said with a smile. He meant it. Sure it'd be a little difficult getting by with stitches for a few more days and he'd have an uphill battle with healing, but he was happy he'd gotten the surgery. Despite the itchy discomfort of the stitches and healing skin and the occasional throb of pain, Alan felt a lot better. His back didn't hurt nearly as bad as he thought it would and he could never thank Dr. Guther enough.

"No problem Alan, you be good and I'll see you in a few days." Dr. Guther said before she was unexpectedly pulled into a hug by the teenage boy. She lightly patted Alan's shoulder before she pulled away. "Good job trooper."

With the goodbye's said and the family loaded into the vehicle, they left the hospital. It'd be a few days yet until they'd need to return to have Alan's stitches removed, but for the time being they wouldn't have to come back again.

"Hey dad?" Alan asked curiously.

"Yes Alan?" Jeff inquired as he stopped at a red light.

"Can we stop for a cheeseburger? I'm starving." Alan asked to which his brothers snorted in laughter. Of course Alan would be hungry, he and Gordon were always hungry, but no one more so than Alan was in that moment. He'd been living on a diet of liquid and food as tasty as cardboard. He needed some sustenance.

"Sure son. You boys want anything?" Jeff asked.

When there were echoes of agreement for some lunch, Jeff put on his right blinker before turning down the street to go to a little burger joint not far from the apartment. "Well, then let's go then."


	3. Recovery

Once they were back at the family apartment, John helped Alan out of the car and he stayed close to his younger brother while the rest of the family unloaded the car. Scott carried Alan's overnight bag which had his change of clothes from the hospital and his medications as well as hospital approved cleaners for keeping the surgical site clean. There was also an assortment of anti-itch creams that Alan could use to prevent itching to the sight while it was healing.

Jeff was carrying the bag of food that they'd stopped to get on the drive home and Virgil carried the tray that held their sodas. Gordon looked back at Alan and John as the rest of them went towards the elevator. Alan was still moving slow, and John smiled at Gordon before he made a shoo motion with his hand. He knew that he and Alan were moving slow, he didn't want Alan to feel like he was slowing them down and push himself to go faster so he motioned for his family to move on without them.

"You're doing good Alan, let me know if you need to stop for a break." John said as he encouraged Alan to keep going. He watched his family board the lift and disappear behind the door. "We're almost there Alan, keep up the good work."

"Damn it, I need to sit down." Alan said shakily. This was further than he'd walked in a long time. He looked around for a place to sit and didn't see anything.

"Here." John directed Alan to sit on the bumper of one of the cars parked in the underground parking of Tracy Enterprises. It wasn't much to sit on but it awarded Alan a few moments to catch his breath and regain his bearings. "No rush, let me know when you're ready to go."

Alan sat for a few moments and took a couple of deep breaths before he felt ready to go a little bit further. "Okay, let's go."

They walked on, and eventually made it into the elevator. Alan leaned against John as he caught his breath.

"How's your back?" John asked softly as he held still so as not to dislodge his brother.

"It hurts…but it will for a while." Alan said as he chewed on his lip. When the elevator doors opened, the brothers made their way out of the elevator and down the short hallway. Scott must have been standing at the door looking out the peephole because suddenly the door opened. The brothers made their way into the apartment and they made their way to the couch in the middle of the room.

Alan sighed aloud when he sat on the couch.

"That's better isn't it Sprout?" Virgil commented as he watched Alan practically melt into the couch cushions.

"God yes." Alan sighed before he changed position so that he was lying on his side on the couch. He preferred laying on his side as opposed to on his back at the moment. He tried laying on his back once when he was in the hospital and all he could manage was 2.5 seconds before he had to roll over, it made his back ache to lay on it so soon after surgery. "Can I please get my burger?"

"Sure son." Jeff said as he dug through the bag until he found the burger with the extra mustard written on the packaging. He grabbed a plate for Alan and placed the burger on it with his fries. Taking it to Alan, he smiled when Alan made the 'gimme' gesture. He gave his youngest the plate and watched as Alan wolfed down his food. Making a mental note, Jeff swore he'd try to make sure Alan would never be put on a liquid diet again, it was nothing but carnage as Alan had torn into his food. "Feel better?"

Alan was licking the rest of the crumbs from his fingertips and nodded is absolute contentment now that he had food. He failed to notice his brother's looks of amazement over the speed in which he'd eaten his food. Could you blame a guy? He was hungry, of course he's going to stuff his face.

The rest of the family sat down to eat and noticed after a few moments that Alan had fallen asleep with his head resting on the arm of the couch. Virgil set down his burger and stood up before he grabbed the afghan from the back of the couch and draped it over Alan. The rest of the family smiled at the caring gesture and they kept their voices to a normal speaking level so as to let Alan sleep.

Once they'd all eaten, Gordon grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the television. He jumped when the volume blared loudly and he hurried to turn it down but winced when Alan opened his eyes with a groan.

"Sorry for waking you Al." Gordon said softly. He felt really bad for waking his little brother, especially since this was his first time sleeping anywhere outside of the hospital since surgery.

"It's okay." Alan mumbled before he rolled over and went right back to sleep. Gordon watched Silent Library and stifled his laughter at the antics when he heard a soft snore. Gordon had sat on the floor in front of the couch and he smiled. Alan claimed he didn't snore, but Gordon could hear a definite telltale snore coming from his little brother. Alan had rolled over again and now his hand was resting on Gordon's shoulder.

"Think we ought to wake him and make him go to bed?" Scott asked from the recliner. He'd been watching silent library with Gordon while Virgil was drawing and John was typing away on his laptop.

"No, let's let him sleep a bit longer. He wouldn't sleep on the couch unless he was comfortable." Gordon said.

Jeff came in from his bedroom and told his sons to keep an eye on their brother, he was running downstairs for a board meeting that he'd forgotten he'd scheduled and he couldn't miss it. His secretary had called him to inform him that the meeting was starting imminently.

Once Jeff was gone, the other brothers looked around. There wasn't much they could do with Alan sleeping on the couch, not that they wanted to make him move. They must have all been thinking too loudly however because within moments of their same thought, Alan had woken up and groaned as he gave a tiny stretch.

"How was your nap kiddo?" Gordon asked as he looked up at his brother above him.

"Good. But you know what would feel better? A shower." Alan said as he looked over to Virgil. "I feel gross."

"Al, you know what Dr. Guther said. She said you couldn't have a shower until your stitches were removed." Virgil reminded Alan.

"Come on Virge! I can smell myself!" Alan whined as he tried the puppy dog eyes on his brother. "If I can smell my own BO, I'm sure you can too!"

"You know he's got a point, and little brothers do stink quite regularly." Scott said as he poked fun at his little brother.

"Come on, I'm afraid to lift my arms at this point for fear of knocking you guys over with the smell." Alan whined again.

"Alright! I'll get things together so you can have a sponge bath, but that's it. Dr. Guther said no showers until your stitches came out." Virgil said adamantly before he stood to help Alan up and lead him to the bathroom. The medic was simply going to swipe the sponge around on Alan's back and places Alan couldn't reach without bending over then he'd leave Alan to clean the rest of himself.

Once in the bathroom, Virgil helped Alan disrobe after handing him a towel to wrap around his waist to preserve his modesty. Once covered only in a towel, Virgil made Alan sit on the lid of the toilet while he ran up some warm water in the sink. Once done, Virgil got some suds on the sponge and he lightly swiped around Alan's back, making sure to keep away from the surgical site. He took care in using enough pressure to not tickle Alan, but being gentle enough to make this pleasant for his brother.

"Okay, I'm going to leave you to take care of the rest. I'll be outside gathering some clothes for you and I'll knock to make sure you're decent before I come in to help you dress." Virgil said as he noticed Alan's hair could certainly stand to be washed. The blonde strands were starting to stick together in one big greasy mess but he wondered how Alan could wash his hair.

Once Alan was alone, he went about taking care of his own needs and he looked askance at the shower. He really, really wanted a shower. Sure he couldn't smell himself anymore, but that didn't mean he necessarily felt clean. He didn't dare look in the mirror at himself, he knew his hair was filthy. He hadn't had a shower in six or seven days and he'd never gone so long without a bath before. It was driving him crazy.

There was a soft knock and Alan was quick to pull the towel back over his lap. He'd finished bathing himself and now he just wanted to get dressed.

"Feeling better after your sponge bath?" Virgil asked as he saw Alan looking back towards the shower. "No, Alan. No showers for a few more days at least."

"But Virgil." Alan simpered before there was another knock at the door. Virgil went to the door and was surprised to see Scott holding a bottle of dry shampoo.

"What?" Virgil said as Scott pushed the bottle into his hands. "What is this?"

"It's dry shampoo, it's a spray that we can use on Alan's hair to clean it a little until he can have a shower." Scott said. "Danni suggested it to me when I asked her about us washing Alan's hair."

"I don't know how to use dry shampoo." Virgil said as he looked at the medium sized spray can.

"I don't either, that's why there are directions on the back of the can genius." Scott said as shook his head. "Help Al get dressed and then we'll work on his hair out here in the living room. Let it be a learning experience for all of us."

With that said, Virgil shut the door and went back over to help Alan get dressed. The kid was now sporting a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt that was super baggy on his thin frame. It hung off one of Alan's shoulders slightly and then it occurred to Virgil that he must have accidently dug into Scott's duffle. Scott's clothes always were a lot bigger than their fourteen-year-old brother.

"I'm sorry Al, I must have given you a pair of Scott's clothes." Virgil apologized after seeing how the clothes swallowed his little brother.

"No you didn't. These are mine." Alan said as he looked up at his older brother quizzically. "They're hand me downs."

"How can you have hand me downs when we typically keep all our old clothes until they're too old to mend? Virgil asked.

Alan offered a small shrug at the question. Once after he came back from school, after Onaha had taken his clothes to have them washed; Alan discovered a pair of Scott's clothes in his laundry. He just forgot to give them back to his brother and had begun using them after he'd forgotten to wash his clothes when he was away at school. He discovered that the baggy clothes were super comfortable and he just never gave them back, Scott never questioned where they were at and even when he found that they were with Alan at school – he didn't ask for them back. Alan just assumed Scott didn't want them back and so he just kept them.

Together the brothers left the room and Virgil took Alan back to the living room where everyone else was gathered around the TV.

"What's going on?" Virgil asked to which the other brothers looked back over with sympathy. "What?"

"Some member of the paparazzi saw us leaving the hospital and got pictures of us helping Alan out of a wheelchair. The gossip news is speculating what happened to Alan and they're slandering dad's name." John said venomously. "They're questioning if dad is abusive."

"Oh my god." Virgil groaned when he felt Alan quivering. "You okay Al?"

"I didn't want anyone to know that I was in the hospital!" Alan was upset that it'd been announced that he'd been in the hospital. Now he wouldn't be able to hide it from his classmates when he came back from summer vacation like he'd hoped he could.

"We'll get it figured out Al. I texted dad and he knows. He's going to do some damage control and we should have this cleared up in no time." Scott said assuring Alan that it'd all be taken care of.

"But now everyone knows that I was in the hospital. I didn't want that broadcast." Alan said sadly. He was hoping to keep the knowledge that he'd needed surgery under wraps long enough so that when it did come about, it'd be old news.

"Let's put on a movie and forget this ever happened, okay? It'll blow by in no time." Gordon said as he slapped the cushions of the couch. "Come sit down and let's watch a movie."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

When Jeff returned approximately two hours later, he smiled to himself after letting himself in. Each of his sons were scattered in various places around the living room and each were sound asleep. The credits to the movie they were watching was scrolling by and Jeff walked over to turn the dial, turning up the lights from out to dim before he woke his sons.

"Hey boys, how're things going?" Jeff asked as he observed Alan's eyes open and slowly track around the room before they settled on him. Gordon groaned as he stretched, having fallen asleep on the floor whilst leaned against the couch like he'd been earlier. Scott scratched at his chest with a yawn while Virgil rubbed his jaw. John who was curled up in the love seat simply stared up at his dad, the face he was making told Jeff how displeased his second oldest son was at being woken up. When none of his sons replied, Jeff asked again. "Did everything go okay while I was gone?"

"Yes." Was the collective response before each of the boys got up from their impromptu hibernation and they started moving around more. Scott checked the fridge and pulled out the ingredients for baked chicken while John went about making green bean casserole. Virgil helped Alan up before ushering him to the bathroom to check the healing surgical site again while Gordon got up to make some tea for him and Alan. Jeff watched each of his sons' putter around the kitchen except for Alan and Virgil when he imparted what he knew.

"So, I contacted the local news station and threatened a lawsuit if they didn't take the topic of Alan from their airwaves. With him being underage, it was easier to accuse them of exploitation of a minor. They contacted their affiliates and pulled the bulletin about Alan being abused as well as his being in the hospital." Jeff felt happy that he'd gotten it taken care of so easily. He felt that there was going to be more of a catch, but was surprised that the reporters hadn't wanted to poke a sleeping bear with a stick.

"That's great. Alan's still really worried though. He's afraid of going back to school come September." Gordon said as he leaned against the counter while the mugs of tea he'd prepared steeped. 'I'm really worried about him."

"Yes well, we'll see how he does in school and go from there." Jeff said lightly. "He's keeping out of trouble for the most part and he's keeping up with his grades, so we'll see."

After a few moments, Alan came out with Virgil following close behind him. They both seemed relaxed, though Jeff knew just by looking at his youngest that he felt far from great.

"How're you feeling son?" Jeff asked softly. Alan looked up but nodded without saying anything. At Jeff's questioning look to Virgil, the middle child mouthed that he'd tell his dad later what was going on with Alan. Jeff nodded but kept quiet. He'd let Virgil tell him in a little bit, though Jeff wished there was something he could do for his youngest son. "Just a few more days, then we can head home."

Alan didn't say anything to that and he offered a shaky smile to Gordon when the redhead handed him a mug of warm tea. Both boys left the kitchen for the living room and Jeff motioned for Virgil to meet him on the balcony. Once the sliding door was closed, Jeff and Virgil began talking.

"So what's up with your brother besides the obvious?" Jeff asked as he leaned against the railing.

"Well, he really wants to take a shower, not just get a sponge bath. He felt embarrassed when we sprayed dry shampoo in his hair to soak up the oils because he felt that it made him girly." Virgil said with a sigh. "And Alan really hates that he needs those pain pills."

"I'd be worried if he did like taking them." Jeff replied until he noticed Virgil shake his head lightly. "What?"

"The pain pills the doc has him on have side effects that Alan finds humiliating. He wants to stop taking them." Virgil said as he gazed down at the street below.

"But he's not even two weeks post op." Jeff said, his voice stunned at the news Virgil delivered.

"Well, I know I wouldn't want to advertise when something was preventing me from doing something that is as natural as breathing." Virgil said with sympathy. "Poor kid was near tears when he asked me to come to the bathroom for some help."

"What was wrong?" Jeff asked, genuinely concerned for his youngest. Having back surgery didn't seem bad enough and now Alan was facing all sorts of interesting side effects thanks to his medications.

"What do you think? The OxyContin is keeping him from, you know…going." Virgil said with a shrug. "I had to give him something so he could go without trying too hard. That's why Gordon fixed him some tea. We're hoping it has the desired effect."

"So Gordon knows?" Jeff asked, feeling bad for his youngest who without a doubt must be feeling smaller than an amoeba.

"Yeah, Gordon was the one who came and got me when we were watching a movie. He'd gone to check on Alan when he stayed gone for a long time. Scott and John don't know yet. I didn't think it fair to tell everyone that Alan was having a little trouble in a department that he shouldn't have problems in. I asked Alan if it was okay that I tell you, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't discuss this with John or Scott." Virgil said, knowing his dad had a habit of using Scott and John as his sounding boards since their mom was no longer around to offer her two cents to the conversation. Jeff nodded as he crossed his heart.

"You have my word." Jeff said before going back to the previous topic. "So what are you going to do to help your brother?"

"Well, I'd rather he not stops taking the meds that Doc Guther prescribed for him. So I'm going to add in an extra supplement to help him out and we'll keep him hydrated so hopefully he won't have this problem again. Not much we can do, it's not his diet per se that's causing the issue but more the medications. It's a known side effect of Tylenol 3, OxyContin and other various pain medications which have a bit of oomph." Virgil said softly as he glanced in through the window to see Alan propped up against Gordon on the couch. It wasn't often Gordon's strong suit, but the medic knew Gordon had a soft spot for his little brother and do what he could to make things easier for him, even if it meant stepping out of his comfort zone to comfort the kid when he felt like he needed it most.

"You do what you feel is appropriate for your brother. I trust in your judgement." Jeff said before he and Virgil returned inside.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was later that same night after Jeff had gone to bed that he was woken up by his youngest son. Jeff couldn't be sure when he pried his eyes open, but he could have sworn Alan was too old to be sneaking into his bedroom after hours because of his fear of the dark.

"Dad? Dad…dad." Alan whispered persistently as he stood by his dad's bedside.

"What?" Jeff asked softly as he came awake.

"Can you get me a pain pill? I don't know where Virgil has them hidden." Alan whispered. When Jeff turned on his bedside lamp, it was then he could clearly see Alan's face and the poor boy was more than a little pale. Jeff eased Alan down into his own bed so the boy could lay down while Jeff went to retrieve a pill for the boy. Jeff ventured out into the living room and went to Virgil's messenger bag where he knew Virgil had last put the prescription for Alan. He riffled through the bag for a few moments before he made a quiet cheer of triumph. He'd found the pills he'd been looking for. He walked back to his room and couldn't help the endearing smile from forming as he saw his youngest stretched out and once more asleep. Jeff had half a mind to let him sleep, but he knew a pain filled Alan would be unbearable for not just him but his other sons.

"Alan, I've got your pill." Jeff whispered as he sat on the side of his bed to roust Alan. The boy's eyes came open and Jeff held a caplet in front of Alan's eyes so he could see the oblong caplet. Alan took the pill without argument before he sighed. He didn't want to get up and go back to his room, but he couldn't exactly share his dad's bed. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm tired and I just want to go to bed, but my back was starting to hurt again and I didn't want it to get too bad." Alan said as he sat up slowly.

"Why don't you stay here?" Jeff asked, knowing his son was comfortable. "My bed is big enough for us to share."

"I just don't want to keep you up. I haven't been able to get comfortable." Alan said with a sigh.

"That pill is more than likely going to knock you out. I doubt you'll keep me awake." Jeff said in argument. He proceeded to crawl in on the other side of the bed and he laid on his side looking at his youngest. "Just go to sleep."

Alan's eyes gazed intently at his father before they began to droop in fatigue. Jeff reached out and gently grasped Alan by the back of the head and started softly scratching the back of Alan's head. It was one way they got Alan to sleep when he was a baby and it still worked when he was a teenager. Once Alan was asleep, Jeff leaned over him to turn out the light. He pulled the blankets up to Alan's shoulders before he laid down himself to sleep.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The next three days passed by without incident. Alan spent all his available time which was every waking second of his day doing nothing short of laying around. Every time he asked if anyone needed help with cooking or washing dishes, he was reminded by whomever he was asking that his doctor had him on restricted duty meaning he was allowed to do nothing but feed himself, care for himself and not lift so much as a pinky finger.

Alan laid on the couch, watching a movie that Gordon had left on for him while he and John washed the dishes. Scott had gone down to the office with their dad and Virgil was reading the instructions on Alan's post-surgical care. It didn't escape Alan's sense of humor that he'd now come with an instruction book. When he thought about it he couldn't stop the snicker before he'd been heard by Virgil. The medic looked up at him before rolling his eyes with mutterings about crazy little brothers.

"What time is Alan's appointment today?" Gordon asked from the kitchen. He was practically elbow deep in sudsy dish water.

"Around two. Then we should get Alan's brace while we're there." Virgil replied as he checked his watch.

Alan stared uninterestedly at the movie flashing across the screen. He was bored and all he wanted to do was something. Anything at this point. He'd even clip someone's toenails that weren't his own, if it'd give him something to do. He chanced a glance at the coffee table and spied a book. It wasn't his ordinary reading material but it was something. He snagged it from the coffee table and started reading through it before settling on a single page and losing himself in the words.

Once his attention was occupied elsewhere, Alan found himself a little dismayed when Scott laid his hand over the book which was over halfway finished only to discover it was time for them to leave for his appointment. Alan looked down at the book in his lap, sad that he'd have to leave it. He was really interested in what he'd been reading.

"The book isn't going anywhere Alan; you can come back to read it after your appointment." Scott said softly as he helped Alan up from where he was lying on the couch. "Let's get this done and get back here so you can relax."

Alan took notice how John was staying on the loveseat and Scott had taken over Alan's spot on the couch. His shoulders dropped when Virgil and Gordon led Alan from the apartment with their dad and into the elevators. Once down in the vehicle, Jeff drove off after his sons had gotten their safety belts fastened.

"So Alan, if Dr. Guther approves it – I might be able to let you get a shower this evening." Virgil said as a way to form conversation. When Virgil looked back from the front seat, he noticed that Alan was even listening. He was resting his chin in his upturned palm whilst gazing out the window. Gordon shrugged at Alan's behavior and the rest of the car ride remained in total silence. When they did reach the office that Dr. Guther worked out of, they all went in as a unit.

Jeff filled in the necessary paperwork in order to get them seen and before they knew it they were being called back to the exam room. Gordon and Virgil stayed back when the nurse bustled in to ask Alan questions about how he was feeling after surgery. She worked effortlessly to get Alan to speak with her and after she finished what she had to, she left them with a promise that she'd be back with Dr. Guther to remove Alan's stitches.

Alan went quiet at that and Jeff tried to get Alan to smile but the boy refused to look at his father. There was a knock soon and then Dr. Guther entered with a smile.

"Hello Alan, oh I guess we decided to have a bit of a party, huh?" Dr. Guther wasn't expecting to see Virgil and Gordon in the room, but she wasn't going to balk. To her, the more the merrier. "Are you ready?"

"Will I be able to take a shower after this?" Alan asked solemnly. He did really want a shower badly.

"Let's take a look after I remove your stitches and go from there." Dr. Guther said before she gathered her tools. "Can you either remove or lift your shirt?"

Blinking rapidly, Alan grabbed the neck of his shirt in the back and pulled it over his head. He held his shirt in his lap while Dr. Guther came forward and proceeded to palpate the edges of the incision with her gloved fingers. "Swelling is present, but not as bad as it could be. Bruising is present, but those will have to fade with time. Can I get my scissors and forceps?"

The nurse handed the requested tools to Dr. Guther and the doctor focused carefully on removing the stitches after she sterilized the area. Alan winced a little when each stitches was removed because he felt a very brief tug. Before he knew it, every stitch was removed and he was having his back sterilized again.

"There we go." Dr. Guther said before she looked closely at Alan's back. "Yeah, I think you should be able to take a shower when you get home, provided of course that you have a waterproof bandage over the incision to keep it dry."

"I can take care of that for him. I have the stuff at home." Virgil said as he observed Alan's back from the distance. Yeah his little brother's back is pretty bruised up, but it was with good intention.

"Alright then, unless there are any questions for me – I think it's safe to let you all head on home." Dr. Guther said as she helped Alan put his shirt back on. "I want to see you again in a few weeks for another checkup and in the mean time I want you to get in contact with our physical therapist on site to see if he can provide you with some rehabilitative exercises. I still want you to wear your brace, but you should be able to do those exercises he assigns you. He may even want you to come in periodically so he can assess your movement."

"Okay, I'll make sure he does that." Jeff said while he helped Alan down from the examination table.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Later that afternoon, the whole family was in-route for their villa on the island. Alan was sitting with Gordon who was lending an ear for listening. Gordon was discussing his own recovery period from his accident and through the four-hour discussion, Gordon vowed he'd help Alan with his therapy. Alan seemed unsure and had a dubious look on his face as Gordon described the therapy he underwent to regain his mobility.

"But Gordo, your needs are way different than mine. I had surgery to correct the curve, you had surgery to repair the break." Alan interrupted as he watched Gordon fiddle with the Rubik's cube he was holding.

"Yeah, so what? I had surgery, you had surgery. Just because the scenarios are different doesn't mean we're too different ourselves. We may have had different reasons for needing surgery, but we both needed it regardless." Gordon said as he began to rearrange the stickers on the Rubik's cube to make it look like he'd matched up all the squares. "My point is that; I've had surgery before. It sucked and I've had therapy before and it sucked too…but I did it and I am better now because of it. Don't get in the way of your own dreams, okay?"

Alan was silent after that, truly thinking on what his brother imparted unto him. Sure he was looking forward to having this all behind him, but in the end – he was still scared. He'd had the surgery and was terrified. He woke up in a room with people he couldn't remember and didn't recognize and when he did finally come cognizant, he was surrounded by the love of his family and unending support. He was nervous to go back to school in September more so now that his secret had been announced via gossip news. He didn't want to be labeled a freak or as disabled.

He wasn't dumb, he heard the way the guys at his school talked about this or that. It was one reason he'd befriended Fermat more at their school. Sure he was already friends with Fermat but that was outside of school and kept strictly to their dorm, Alan he didn't think Fermat wanted to be his friend at school. Their friendship was different or it had been.

Alan had outed his and Fermat's friendship when he'd heard locker room trash talk from a few of the boys in their grade. They were discussing on canning Fermat after giving him a mega wedgie. It didn't help that Alan had heard them call Fermat a retard because of his stutter. Alan got fed up and stood up to the boys, going so far as to get in a fight with them over it. Alan declared Fermat under his protection at Wharton's in an effort to prevent the utter humiliation Fermat would suffer and stated that anyone that had a problem with Fermat had to go through Alan. It wasn't long after that, that Fermat officially became a part of "the guys" and began hanging out with Alan's group.

"Hey kiddo, what's on your mind?" Scott asked, breaking Alan from his thoughts. The kid looked up at his brother and shook his head in an effort to dismiss the question. Gordon gave Scott a look that told the oldest brother to drop the subject, but Scott never was good at listening to his younger brothers. The whole, big brother knows best told him to take care of his brothers and that was exactly what he was doing. "Come on."

"It's nothing Scott…I'm just tired." Alan lied, hoping that would get Scott to quit sniffing around for clues.

"Yeah, I just suggested to Alan that he catch a couple of Zzzs before we get home." Gordon said as he looked at Scott with a stern glare which got through to the oldest loud and clear. ' _Leave it'_ was the message received.

"Okay, I'll wake you both before we land." Scott said as he turned to go back to the cockpit with his dad.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It couldn't have been any more than ten minutes back on the island that Alan found himself smothered by Fermat and Tin-Tin. The two teens had been waiting eagerly when the jet touched down and both kids were barely restrained by their parents when the doors of the jet opened and Alan descended the stair case carefully. Once Alan's feet touched the floor, both Fermat and Tin-Tin surged forward in any effort to help Alan with something.

"Do you need anything Alan?" Tin-Tin asked.

"Can I c-c-carry your b-b-bag Alan?" Fermat asked.

And within minutes Alan was already growing claustrophobic. If it wasn't for the act of running jarring his incision, he might have run away to escape his two friends. He knew they meant well, but it was already driving him crazy. This was exactly why he didn't want anyone to know he was having surgery. Kyrano must have sensed that Alan was growing agitated from the endless questions from the two kids because he came forward and covered the mouths of both teens.

"Alan can't answer your questions if you don't give him the chance. Why don't you let him have a word in edgewise?"

Alan took the reprieve for what it was and he sighed when his friends gave him expectant looks. Alan didn't feel like fielding a round of twenty questions. He was still really tired and incredibly sore despite the pain pills taking the edge off. He really just wanted to go lay down. He'd slept propped up against Gordon for most of the plane ride and now he was paying for it with his back throbbing endlessly.

"Can I tell you guys later? Please?" Alan asked and he saw the crestfallen looks on the faces of his friends and he felt like a heel. Here they'd worried endlessly for him when he'd gone to have the surgery and now Alan didn't feel like talking about it. "Give me some time?"

"It's time that Alan ate his lunch and took his afternoon pill anyway. You two understand right?" Virgil said as he placed a gentle hand on Alan's shoulder before lightly pushing his kid brother in front of him. "Then after lunch, I'll cover your back then you can get a shower. How does that sound?"

Alan didn't quite know how to respond to that. Sure he wanted a shower desperately after ten days' sans a real shower, but he also felt bad leaving his friends high and dry. He let Virgil lead him into the villa though and he offered a brief smile to his brother when he'd given him the little oblong pill and a glass of orange juice after they reached the kitchen. Alan swallowed the first pill before he curled his lip at the other not so big pill. It was something Virgil had given him to help with this or that. Needless to say he was glad Virgil thought to give it to him, he hadn't liked calling his brother to the bathroom because he was having trouble. He'd felt utter humiliation over that, but Virgil and Gordon hadn't said anything further to embarrass him.

Once he'd taken the pills Virgil had given him, Onaha had bustled in and retrieved a plate to feed Alan the sandwich she'd fixed for him. Jeff had requested there be a light lunch, simply saying he didn't want lunch to spoil their appetite for dinner. Alan ate his sandwich and homemade chips happily and he smiled at Onaha when she lightly ran her fingers through his hair.

Once he'd finished his meal, Virgil who'd inhaled his own lunch stood up to take Alan to the infirmary to cover his back with a waterproof covering. Once there, Virgil helped unbind the fastenings of Alan's brace and he smiled reassuringly at Alan once it'd been removed. Virgil had brought along Alan's duffle and he retrieved the small bottles of soap and shampoo before handing that and a small stack of clothes to Alan.

"Go on in to take a shower. I'll be out here to remove the cover when you're done. Leave the door ajar so I can hear you if you need me." Virgil said before he went to his desk in the far corner to leaf through some paperwork. He had copies of Alan's paperwork to update his file.

Meanwhile after Alan pushed the shower door almost closed, he moved slowly over to the handles and he adjusted the water temperature until he'd felt satisfied with the temperature. He groaned in pleasure after he'd stepped under the cascade of water. He closed his eyes as the water ran over his shoulders. He knew one things was for sure, he'd never take showers for granted ever again.

He was slow to raise his arms, having put a bit of shampoo into the palm of his hand. He closed his eyes once more as he began to lather up his hair and he gave a small shiver as he began to rinse his hair. The suds that were being rinsed ran over his shoulders and he thought it felt weird. He wondered what his back looked like, he couldn't imagine that it looked very pretty. He took his time when he began to wash his body. He wanted to wash the feeling of the betadine from his skin as well as the stickiness of the surgical tape. He looked at the bruise on his hand from the IV and tried to imagine what his back looked like once more. He wished he had a mirror.

Once he'd felt satisfied with his cleanliness, he shut off the water and grabbed his towel. He dried off as best he could without bending over or twisting and once he felt he was dry satisfactorily, he dressed in a clean pair of pajama bottoms. He grabbed his shirt and left the shower room, skin instantly prickling at the change in temperature.

"Oh there you are. I was wondering if you'd drowned." Virgil said as he stood up and approached Alan with the intent to aid him in his quest to one of the infirmary beds. "How do you feel?"

"A lot better." Alan said as he sat on the bed and allowed Virgil to dry the left over water that he hadn't been able to reach. "Thank you."

"No problem, little brother." Virgil said with a smile. He focused on the task at hand and he slowly peeled away the tape and bandages to reveal the surgical site. It certainly looked a lot better, that Virgil was certain of.

"Oh my god."

Virgil and Alan both looked at the doorway to see Tin-Tin and Fermat. Tin-Tin stood with a hand over her mouth and Fermat's eyes were huge. The two of them both stood in shock at the sight before them. Alan hung his head in shame, this was exactly why he didn't want either of his friends to see him. He knew they'd be shocked at the sight of his incision, that's why he hadn't wanted them to know.

"Come in and close the door." Virgil said sternly. Once the two teens had entered and did as Virgil ordered, the older brother stood up and used his authority. "I don't appreciate you two disregarding Alan's request for time. He's still healing from surgery and we've already had the media trying to harass him. Now I love the both of you like family, but I don't take kindly to anyone hurting my little brother…that includes ignoring his request for time and going about your own agenda. I hope that by now you two would know how fiercely protective I am over my brothers. Alan especially. Neither of you will give him a hard time or ask him needless questions, he'll come to the both of you either together or individually to talk to you when he is ready. Do you understand me?"

Tin-Tin and Fermat both bowed their heads in shame at the tongue lashing they were getting from the young man that was like a brother to them. Both Tin-Tin and Fermat glanced behind Virgil who was standing protectively in front of his brother only to see Alan using his shirt in an attempt to cover himself. He looked vulnerable. Like a scared child on the first day of kindergarten.

"I know you two are curious, but you don't need to betray Alan's trust to get answers." Virgil continued when he glanced behind himself to see how sad his brother looked. Alan's sun kissed skin was pale and the shame colored his face deeply. "Now, please apologize to Alan and be on your way."

Alan couldn't look his two best friends in the eye as they both stepped forward to apologize to him. He continued hiding behind his shirt, even when both of his friends apologized and ran from the room. Once they'd fled, Virgil walked over to put his hand on Alan's shoulder. He felt sincerely sorry for his baby brother. "Are you okay?"

Alan came close to crying out of shame and abject embarrassment. He shook his head and Virgil knew that Alan had reached his limit for the day. Sitting on the bed, Virgil wrapped Alan in a comforting hug and shushed his brother when he whimpered. "It'll be okay kiddo. It'll be okay."

"I just wish this never happened." Alan moaned sadly. He refused to cry anymore, but he was still ashamed.

"I know kiddo. I know." Virgil continued hugging Alan and after he'd calmed his brother, he helped him get his shirt on before leading him from the infirmary. "Let's go see what Kyrano and Brains got done with your bedroom revamp."

Making their way to their dad's office, Virgil led Alan into the side wing which had been their dad's study before it was rearranged to become Alan's temporary bedroom. Walking into the room, Virgil was amazed that the room looked exactly like Alan's room upstairs. "Wow, kiddo. They did an amazing job."

"Yeah." Alan replied solemnly.

"What's wrong?" Virgil asked softly.

"Can I be alone please?" Alan asked softly as he sank down onto the bed. It was still the bed he was familiar with, but it felt different somehow.

"Sure kiddo." Virgil said before lightly ruffling Alan's hair and turning to leave. Turning ever so slightly to his duffle which Virgil had left on the foot of his bed, Alan opened one of the pockets and retrieved the stuffed Dalmatian the nurses at the hospital had given him. He hugged it tightly before tucking his legs up close to his body and laying on his side. He loved his friends, he truly did but he did feel betrayed by them at the moment. He'd asked them for time and they'd disregarded his request in order to satisfy their curiosity. He couldn't ignore or forgive their betrayal, regardless of how much he'd loved his friends. They'd have to earn his forgiveness.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

A week passed by uneventfully and with it came the dreaded ice applications. Alan never really left his bed the first week on the island, but when he did it was for the couch, going to the dining room for meals, bathroom and to the library. There wasn't much he was permitted to do short of reading a book, watching a movie or playing a video game. He hadn't seen much of Tin-Tin or Fermat, not since they'd been chewed out by Virgil. Sure he saw them at meal time, but one of his brothers was usually talking avidly about something and Alan didn't think it was fair to interrupt.

When he did finally talk to Fermat at last, it was because he'd had the fortune of running into him in the library. Alan felt it was time to talk to his friend and he honestly was glad it was just Fermat. Not to say that he didn't want Tin-Tin to know, but Alan had a crush on her and he didn't want her to look at him differently because of his scoliosis or needing surgery.

Alan convinced Fermat to stay in the library and he talked to his friend one on one. He explained what happened during his surgery, describing that he'd been at his family's mercy – still was and how he was sorry for not telling them sooner.

"W-We had no r-right to pry." Fermat said excusing Alan's avoidance as appropriate. "You a-asked for time a-a-nd we ignored y-you. It w-was w-wrong. I h-hope you c-can forgive us."

"I must admit, I'm still pretty pissed that you guys ignored me. But I don't like being mad at either of you." Alan said evenly. He'd taken a seat on the couch in the library and looked up at his friend.

"I k-know and I knew f-from the moment w-we saw you after y-your shower that we'd g-gone too far." Fermat admitted.

"I know I tell you guys everything, but just this once I didn't want either of you to know until I came to terms with it." Alan said as he pulled his legs up into the seat with him and gripped his ankles.

"Y-You mean you h-hadn't come t-to terms with it w-when you'd told us y-you were going to have s-surgery?" Fermat asked lightly.

"No, I kept hoping that maybe…just maybe the doctors were wrong and that there wasn't anything actually wrong with my back. I guess I was still in denial over needing surgery…still am. I keep telling myself that they insisted I have surgery for no reason, though I know it's not true. I was ashamed, that…that neither you or Tin-Tin would want to still be my friend if you knew the truth or…that Tin-Tin would even acknowledge that I liked her." Alan said softly, choosing not to meet Fermat's eyes. He knew that what he said would hurt his best friend, but how do you make someone that isn't in your position understand your feelings when they just plain can't understand?

"I-It's nice to k-know you have t-that much f-faith in our friendship A-Alan." Fermat murmured softly before he turned and swiftly left the room. He ignored Alan when the older boy called for him to come back and that what he said wasn't how it sounded. The door slammed shut and suddenly Alan was left in the library by himself. He wanted to go after Fermat, but he knew his younger friend was fast when he wanted to be and he could hide just as well as a field mouse when escaping a hungry cat. Not only that, but Alan was prohibited from running by Dr. Guther and Virgil. He didn't want to harm his recovery so he tried to follow doctor's orders as closely as was possible.

Alan eventually left the library, moving slowly and he saw Tin-Tin briefly. He never thought she could look so mad before and it made him feel like hiding. He looked down at his slippers, sad that he'd screwed up his friendship so spectacularly.

When he made his way out onto the patio, John who had been outside reading hopped up to join him.

"Hey kiddo! What's eating you?" John asked as he caught up to Alan and walked in time with him. "Hello? Earth to Alan?"

"I…I don't want to talk about it." Alan replied softly as he hung his head in dejection.

"Come on kiddo, let's go down to the cove and you can tell me about it." John gently said as he grabbed Alan by the hand and lead his brother along behind him.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

"It's just I don't know how to get them not to be mad at me. It's not like I intended it to sound the way it did but it did and now Fermat and Tin-Tin are pissed at me." Alan said as he lay on his stomach in the sand. John had helped Alan down onto the ground without him bending or twisting. It didn't help Alan that John didn't know what to say, but it felt good to at least talk about it with someone.

"Well, honestly I'd say to just leave it right now. Let them be mad and then let them think about it. They'll begin to understand the way you feel. I mean if they know you as much as you say they do, then with a little time they'll come to understand that what happened is just you, they should know this about you by now." John said carefully. "If you want, I can try to talk to them for you and explain to them what you meant."

Alan gave a partial shrug to that suggestion that had John doing his weird psychoanalyzing.

"So, how are you feeling?" John inquired lightly.

"I'm just great. I'm sore, bored out of my mind and I've lost my two friends for as long as they decide." Alan was upset over it too.

John heaved a sigh with a shake of his head. He sat up straighter with a wide eyed look.

"Oh man, I can't believe I forgot!" John said before he stood up and started to pat his pockets down. Alan gave his brother a strange look before John squatted down in front of him with a smile. "I talked to dad and the guys and got their permission…we were going to wait to give this to you for Christmas, but…I think you can use this now."

John picked up Alan's hand and placed a cloth covered object in the center of his hand. Alan looked at his hand before giving John a perplexed look. John offered a look to his brother that suggested he take a look at the object in his hand. Alan looked back down at the item in his hand before he pulled away the cloth and he stilled when he glimpsed a watch. It wasn't just any watch however, it was a communication watch and Alan was under the impression that he wouldn't get one of those until he joined the Thunderbirds team. He looked up at John with surprise.

"What…is…this?" Alan asked in shock.

"Well, it's a watch…a mighty fine one too." John said as he took the watch from Alan's hand and picked up Alan's wrist and fastening the watch over it. Once it was fastened comfortably, John let Alan's wrist go. "It looks perfect."

Alan looked at his wrist in shock before meeting John's gaze.

"But…why?" Alan asked still very much shock still over the surprise.

"Well, to be honest…it was Scott's idea to have one made for you but he wanted to give it to you for Christmas. I insisted you get it early though." John said with a smile. Seeing the smile blossom on his little brother's face was well worth giving him his Christmas present early. "I just felt that you'd need this now, especially since you're recovering from surgery. If you need one of us and we can't hear you, then you can call us on our watches and we can come to you."

Alan was slow to get up, but when he was on his knees he hugged John tightly.

"Thank you so much!" Alan was happy for the impromptu gift.

"No biggie kiddo, and I'll talk to Fermat and Tin-Tin for you." John said reassuringly. "Now let's get comfy and I'll show you all the special features of your new watch!"

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan was sitting on the couch in the living room later that evening after dinner when Virgil approached him and trailed his fingers lightly over Alan's shoulder to clue him in that he was no longer alone. Alan looked back with a questioning gaze before pouting.

"Sorry kiddo, time for your respiratory exercises." Virgil said as he produced the portable infirmary spirometer and he gave it to his brother. Alan rolled his eyes at the hated device before casting a look at his brother. "You've been avoiding me all day, you need to do your deep breathing exercises that Dr. Guther assigned you. You only have another week of these then I'll quit pestering you."

"Promise?" Alan asked with his bottom lip stuck out in a mock pout.

"Yes, I promise." Virgil said before he sat on the couch with Alan and held the mouth piece up to his brother's mouth. "Now get to it."

Alan gave a small sigh before he did as Virgil ordered and began his deep breathing exercises. Apparently it was normal to need deep breathing exercises after scoliosis surgery. Dr. Guther and Virgil seemed to think so as well as Gordon.

He'd been doing his exercises for barely even ten minutes when Fermat knocked on the door frame entering the living room. Alan concentrated on his breathing exercises while Virgil waved Fermat in. The younger boy walked around the edge of the couch and stopped as he saw Alan doing his exercises. Alan's eyes were closed as he kept a mental tally up for how many deep breathes he'd managed.

"Alan?" Fermat asked to which Virgil held up a hand.

"Wait just a second, he's counting." Virgil said before he confirmed that Alan had finished his numbers. "Good, bro. Take a rest and we'll do this again in the morning after breakfast."

Virgil took the spirometer and left the living room and by default Alan and Fermat alone together.

"Back to rub my nose in it?" Alan asked glumly. He had a slight wheeze following his exercises and his cheeks were a little ruddy.

"N-No…John talked to m-me and he told m-me that you didn't m-mean anything by your e-earlier s-st-comment. I admit, I j-jumped to the w-wrong conclusions. I j-just wanted to a-ap- say I'm s-sorry." Fermat said with his head held low.

"It's just…you know me. You know my biggest fault is that I don't have a very good brain before mouth filter so I tend to say things before I think about them or their consequences. It really hurt that you wouldn't listen to me when I tried to apologize." Alan said as he met Fermat's gaze.

"I-I know, John t-told me how m-much it hurt your f-feelings." Fermat said softly. Both boys lapsed into silence for a few minutes before Fermat spoke first. "W-What was V-Virgil making you d-do?"

"My doctor assigned me homework during my recovery. She wants me to do breathing exercises a few times a day, something about back surgery affecting my lungs short-term. I don't understand it. It's all Greek to me." Alan said with a shrug. "I've been hiding from Virge and he found me when I came here to relax."

"Why don't you want to do your exercises?"

Alan bit his lip as he turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder. Tin-Tin stood by with her head bowed and glancing up like a puppy that knocked over her person's prized vase.

"I get dizzy and lightheaded." Alan replied before huffing out a slight wheeze. "And I get a whistle when I breath."

"Shouldn't you have Virgil check that out?" Tin-Tin asked as she walked in the room and sat on the coffee table in front of Alan.

"He knows I have it and he uses it to make sure I do my exercises. If I don't, I feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest." Alan replied. He offered a slight shrug before he spoke again. "It doesn't matter."

"Sure, it does." Tin-Tin said sadly. "I'm sure there's a reason you need to do those exercises."

"It's so you don't get pneumonia Alan." Gordon said as he entered the room. "Virgil wanted me to come get you for a bandage change. Come on."

"He just left, he could have told me before that." Alan whined as he was forced to stand up when he wanted to just rest. Alan tilted his head at his friends, silently telling them to follow him. Gordon escorted Alan, Fermat and Tin-Tin to the infirmary.

"Yeah well, you know Virgil. He's a doofus sometimes." Gordon said just as the door to the infirmary opened.

"I heard that." Virgil said with an unamused look on his face. "Hey Gordon, how many fingers am I holding up?"

Virgil presented his hand and Gordon blinked slowly before he replied. "Five…"

"Good counting, the third one is for you." Virgil said as he flipped Gordon the bird and came forward, drawing Alan from the group and leading him to the infirmary bed. "Have a seat kiddo, I need to gather my supplies and then I'll have you raise your shirt."

It didn't fail Virgil's notice that Fermat and Tin-Tin were present and Virgil leaned in to whisper to Alan. "Are you okay with them being here?"

"Yeah, I told them to come with." Alan whispered back before he gestured to his two friends to come sit by him on the bed. Once Fermat and Tin-Tin were sat beside Alan, Virgil returned to help Alan raise his shirt.

"Tin-Tin, can you hold Alan's shirt up so he can put his arm down?" Virgil asked as he began to carefully peel the tape and used bandages from his little brother's skin. He used a salt water solution to moisten the bandage so it wouldn't rip out any scabbing that had formed. "Thanks, sweetie."

"D-Doesn't that hurt?" Fermat asked as he observed Virgil squirting the water on the bandages. He could see the bottle was labeled saline and he wondered how that salt water wasn't making Alan yelp."

"Not really, kinda tickles." Alan said as he held his back straight.

Both Tin-Tin and Fermat watched as Virgil peeled the last of the bandaged from Alan's skin and they saw their first real close look at the incision running the length of Alan's back.

"Do you feel any different?" Tin-Tin asked in astonishment. She met Alan's gaze and was shocked when he shook his head.

"Not really. I don't notice it anyway. I'm sure I'll feel a little differently when I can quit taking my meds." Alan murmured. He had to try not to arch away from Virgil when the older Tracy ghosted his fingers over the middle of his incision, checking for swelling. "Stop it Virge, that smarts."

"Sorry…" Virgil said before he picked up the waterproof bandaging. "Let me cover this for you and then you can take a shower. I already brought your PJ's down."

"Thanks Virgil." Alan said as he let Virgil cover the incision.

"No problem." Virgil commented before lightly shoving Alan's shoulder with his index and middle fingers.

Alan grabbed his towel and PJ's and took them into the shower room, pulling the door almost closed. The other teens noticed how Alan didn't fully close the door and that made Tin-Tin ask.

"Is there a reason he's not closing the door all the way?"

"He's not supposed to shower unassisted, but because that room is just a really big shower stall, I have him just pull the door almost closed instead of fully closing it. If the room was equipped with a shower curtain, I'd just sit in there and wait for him to finish bathing, but as it were he'd have no privacy. I make him keep the door partially open in case he slips and falls." Virgil said.

"How long will Alan need monitored showers?" Tin-Tin asked.

"Until his doctor says otherwise. He's not supposed to bend over or twist his back, so if he drops anything he'll have to kneel and I know that slippery floors make that hard without biting the dust. Doctor's orders." Virgil said as he noticed the steam creeping from the shower room.

"How long until Alan doesn't need the brace?" Tin-Tin asked as she glanced down at the hard-plastic brace laying on the infirmary bed.

"Whenever his doctor says he doesn't need it anymore." Virgil said with a shrug. "I'm just his brother, I'm not his doctor, so I'm not able to make those kinds of decisions for him."

Hearing the shower turn off in the shower room, Virgil went about gathering his supplies for changing Alan's bandages.

"W-Will he need s-surgery again?" Fermat asked.

"He shouldn't, Dr. Guther and her surgical team placed some rods and pins in along Alan's spine to keep it from curving further." Virgil said right about the time Alan came from the shower room. The blonde went over to sit on the edge of the bed so Virgil could do what he needed to.

"What are you guys talking about?" Alan asked as if he didn't know what his friends and brother were talking about.

"Just answering their questions." Virgil said as he propped up on the other side of the bed on one knee.

"Anything I can answer?" Alan asked sullenly. He hated that he needed the surgery in the first place.

"Fermat just asked if you'd need surgery again." Virgil stated before continuing with what he'd been talking about previously before Alan's reappearance. "Do you guys remember when Alan needed braces a few years ago? He had a few crooked teeth that wouldn't straighten out despite losing all his baby teeth."

"Yeah." Fermat and Tin-Tin said in unison.

"Well, the pins and rods in Alan's back will be like the braces Alan had on his teeth, only they'll be permanent." Virgil said before offering a sad smile to the two teens when they both gawked at him in shock. "Alan shouldn't need any further surgeries unless he should outgrow the rods and they stop serving their purpose, but that's highly unlikely."

"Have you showed them the X-ray of my back before surgery and after?" Alan asked as he kept his head down. He was still embarrassed by needing all this, but he was sure he'd grow used to it all eventually.

"I didn't want to show them anything without your permission." Virgil said softly. After he'd finished applying clean, dry bandages to Alan's back; Virgil went to grab Alan's folder to show the X-ray films to Fermat and Tin-Tin.

Alan remained silent when he'd heard Virgil describing the curve in his back and going into detail of Alan's surgery. He slipped his shirt on carefully before ghosting from the room. He was so silent that neither Virgil, Fermat or Tin-Tin noticed him leave and when they looked up they were shocked that Alan was gone.

"Alan?" Virgil asked softly.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan wandered out of the villa and towards the beach. He noticed Gordon swiftly cut under the water of the pool and Alan wished he could go for a dip. Sadly, he couldn't for a while longer. The chlorine wouldn't be good for his incision and he couldn't twist or anything without hurting himself. Hanging his head, Alan walked away from the patio and wandered down the trail to the beach. He saw John in the distance, jogging his way across the Eastern Beach. Heaving a sigh, Alan went down to the beach and carefully lowered his rump to the sand. He sat there, feeling desolate.

He felt like a fish out of water. He couldn't go jogging with John or Scott, couldn't use the speed punching bag in the gym downstairs with Virgil and he couldn't go swimming with Gordon. All he could do, all he has been doing for the last few weeks since having surgery is nothing. He's not allowed to do anything and it was driving him crazy.

He'd already watched all the movies in their video library, even the ones he hadn't found particularly enthralling. He'd steadily been reading his way through their library, taking to reading four or five books in a day because of his ability to speed read. He wanted to do something, but his doctor hadn't cleared him for any kind of physical activity outside of lifting a coffee cup. It was summer vacation, so there weren't even any homework assignments for him to do to kill the eternal boredom.

Alan wondered if he could go spend some time with his grandma at the farm or out at Lady Penelope's, at least if he was away from the island he could go to the museums or spend time with the cows on his grandma's property. Anything else would be better than this boredom.

"Hey Sprout!" Scott called as he jogged down the trail to stop beside Alan, eclipsing the sun while he was at it. "What're you doing out here? Virgil's been looking for you."

"I just wanted to be alone." Alan admitted softly.

"What's up?" Scott asked as he squatted down by Alan and looked carefully at his little brother. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Alan said softly, hiding his eyes from Scott.

"Right, and I'm Johnny Appleseed. Try again." Scott said with the look that made Alan tell the truth.

"Nothing…everything…I don't know. I just…just don't feel…like I belong…you know? I feel like I'm standing on the outside, looking in. Everyone else can carry on like nothing is wrong in their world while I'm stuck in motion. I can't do any chores, can't go jogging, can't go for a dip in the pool, can't do any kickboxing…all I can do is read and lay around and watch TV. It's every teenage boy's dream and yet I'm going crazy. I just feel my patience chipping away and I don't know how much longer I can go before I lose it." Alan said as he felt himself slowly getting worked up. He was upset enough to want to start shaking.

"Are you done?" Scott asked carefully.

"I'm done." Alan replied, the fire burning behind his eyes having dimmed to a single small ember.

"If you were that bored…you could have just come to me or dad." Scott said before he sat beside Alan in the sand. "We weren't originally going to say anything, but…dad and I have been talking and since Johnny gave you the watch – we figured it wouldn't hurt for you to get a little head start on Thunderbirds training.

"But I can't do anything physical!" Alan said as he slapped at the sand, sending a spray up into the air.

"You can do the simulations programmed into the simulations room. All you do is sit in a cushy leather seat with a virtual reality helmet on and control a joystick. I know it's not a real rescue, but it'd be better than nothing." Scott said with a soft smile. "All the simulations are literally word boxes that come up to tell you what's going on and you select how best to respond."

"Dad would never go for it." Alan replied sadly.

"Shows how much you know, I've already talked to dad and he thinks now would be a good time for you to start. You don't have anything drawing your attention from training and it at least offers you something to look forward to in your day." Scott said with a smile.

"What's the catch?" Alan asked as Scott sat beside him on the sand.

Scott shrugged with a bemused smile before he spoke. "Cheer up some, smile more, sit at the dinner table with us and yak our ears off about the new cool things you've learned, just come out of your depressed little life under a rock. I miss my baby brother."

Scott gently tossed an arm over Alan's shoulders and pulled him slightly against him. "Just promise me you'll try to perk up."

Alan smiled at Scott before he nodded. "Okay, I'll try."

"Thanks little bro." Scott said softly. "So, have you had enough of your private pity party and ready to come back up to the house? Onaha is going to try her hand at fried ice cream."

"Not quite…I think I'm going to stay here for a while longer." Alan said as he carefully pulled his knees up to his chest.

"Okay, well just know that if you don't get your butt to the house soon, I'll get your helping of fried ice cream." Scott said with a soft nudge to Alan's arm before he stood up to head up to the house and leave Alan to his pity party.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was an hour later that found Alan trudging his way back up to the house. He hung his head, hands in his pockets. He could see his family sitting at the table on the lanai. Looks like he hadn't missed dinner yet.

When he made it up to the table, his dad stood up to greet him. Alan smiled and huffed out a soft breath. He knew it'd take a while longer for his dad and brothers to quit treating him like he was a china doll.

"Alan, I was beginning to wonder if we needed to send out a search party for you." Jeff said as he directed his son to sit in the seat beside him. "Scott just finished telling us that he told you your surprise. What do you think?"

Alan could only smile at his dad and his brothers before he spoke.

"I'm excited…honestly I keep waiting for someone to say 'ha-ha, jokes on you' and tell me it was a farce." Alan looked around from each of the faces of his family to see they were all beaming at him. "You guys aren't pulling my leg are you?"

"Nope…not in a million years' kiddo." Virgil said emphatically. "We discussed it during our last debrief and…we feel like it's time that you begin your training."

Alan looked positively radiant for a moment before his smile fell. "But…you guys know what the doctor said. I'm not allowed to do any kind of physical activity that could put a strain on my body for 6 months to a year. So, I won't be any kind of help on rescues."

"There is such a thing as behind the scenes." John piped up with a knowing smile. "Trust me I would know. Once you cover the simulations and ace them, whenever you're home on a break like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Spring break you can come up to 5 with me and help me out up there. It'd be nice to have the company."

"I'd like that." Alan replied hopefully.

"Well, and soon…at least when your incision heals and you've been given permission to start on therapy – we can set you up on the simulators that mimic the feelings of an earthquake so you know how to respond." Jeff said with a grin. "Because those can sometimes hit out of nowhere and Mother Nature doesn't consider that a person might be injured or healing."

"That would be so awesome!" Alan said as his face broke into a big smile. "You guys spoil me."

"Apparently not enough because you thought we would prank you about Thunderbird's training." Gordon said with a shake of his head and frown. "We know how important being a Thunderbird is to you and we're not about to let your scoliosis diagnosis change the rules of the game for you."

"Just a little while longer before you can begin the physical side of training, but you can start the other simulators as early as tomorrow if you want." Jeff said as he leaned over Alan's shoulder and hugged his son's upper body.

Alan couldn't say anything more to that but he did smile for what felt like the first time in a long time to his family.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

It was two weeks into the start of the new semester following summer vacation and Alan was getting by as well as he could. He had begun offering up excuses to the other guys in his grade about why he wasn't attending gym class and he was beginning to come up short for excuses. The latest excuse was that he'd pulled a muscle running from one of his older brothers and his doctor had excused him from physical activity for the near future.

Opening his dorm door, Alan peeked out into the hallway to see if anyone else was out there. He was heading to the communal bathrooms at the end of the hall. He wanted to take a shower and he'd taken to skipping showers until either early in the morning or right before dorm checks were done by the dorm fathers. He didn't want anyone to see his scars from his surgery a few months prior.

Heaving a sigh, Alan slipped his door closed and shouldered his toiletries bag before hustling without running to the communal bathrooms. Once inside the bathroom, Alan heaved another sigh when he found it empty. He hated having to hide from his fellow classmates and friends, but he wasn't ready to let anyone outside of his closest family and friends know that he needed surgery.

Alan stepped into one of the stalls and pulled the curtain shut before he started the water. After a few minutes in his shower, he'd lathered up his hair and was running his washcloth over his arms when the curtain was roughly yanked to the side and Alan twisted quickly at the surprise of someone opening his stall curtain.

"Hey!" Alan yelled in surprise and anger as he cupped a hand over his groin and backed into the corner of the stall. His arm was grabbed and he was pulled from his shower suddenly. He still had shampoo running down the side of his head and suds on the rest of his body.

"So the rumors are true. Alan Tracy had surgery over the summer break."

Alan ducked his head in shame at being shown on display by one of the upperclassmen. The older boy wasn't alone, he had five of his friends with him and they were all just as famous as Alan was. They were the sons of some of the biggest names in the US. The one that had pulled him from his shower was the secretary of defense's son. He was friends with other boys that had powerful parents. More powerful than Alan's dad.

"What'd you need surgery for anyway pretty boy? Just a little bit of plastic surgery for your ugly mug?"

Alan ducked his head further in shame before he was swiftly turned around so that his back was on display.

"He had back surgery!" One of the boy's friends said in surprise.

"Oh, is it true that your precious little daddy was abusive to you?" The boy, Leslie asked as he stepped around Alan's naked form and leaned into his face. "What? Cat got your tongue?"

Alan couldn't say anything in argument. He was more than a little embarrassed and he was wishing his dad would just pull him out of school. He didn't have to have an privleged education, but he was enrolled because his dad wanted him to have a better education than Scott and John did with having school through the public education system. Not that it made them any worse for wear.

"Les, leave the kid alone!"

Another boy, probably in the same age group as Leslie and his group stepped in on behalf of Alan and draped a large towel over Alan's small frame to shield him and offer some form of protection to his modesty.

"The kid didn't do anything to you to earn this kind of treatment."

The boy bent over and grabbed Alan's toiletries bag and his back brace before he stood and herded Alan from the room.

"Oh come on Jake, I was just having a bit of fun!" Leslie called as the boy that defended Alan continued pushing Alan from the room.

"You can have all the fun you want, but not like this." Jake said before he slammed the door to the communal bathroom, leaving Leslie and his friends behind.

Jake pushed along behind the towel clad Alan, herding him from the room. The younger boy didn't say anything as he began seeing some of the boys on his hall coming alive and standing around chatting. He was being stared at and Alan was beginning to feel his face heat up. His ears were already hot. He still had shampoo in his hair and the heat that seeped into his skin from his shower was rapidly cooling. Jake hurried them to the floor down and into the communal bathroom there so Alan could finish his shower in peace.

"Go ahead and finish your shower. I'll stand guard." Jake said as he went to lean against the wall by the door.

"But this is the teacher's communal." Alan pointed out.

"I know…Other students can't come in here unless given explicit permission from a teacher." Jake said before he made a shooing motion. "Now make like a tree and leaf before we get caught."

Alan was going to say something but he really wanted to wash the shampoo from his hair. He did as Jake insisted and finished his shower before he hurriedly dressed. Once he was dressed in his pants, Alan stepped out of the stall in search of his brace, worried that it'd been left behind. Jake held it out to him.

"I grabbed it before I made us leave." Jake said.

"Thank you." Alan mumbled before he walked over to the full-length mirror before he pulled on a plain white t-shirt. He put the brace on and sneered at the thought that it looked like a corset. He was thin enough, he didn't need a corset, but that's what his brace looked like. He focused on fastening the straps of his brace before he slipped on the long sleeve white shirt he had to wear as part of the Wharton's uniform ensemble. He was just donning his blazer when Jake spoke up from where he was sitting.

"Scoliosis surgery huh?"

"What?" Alan asked as he whirled around to stare in surprise at Jake. The older boy stood up and sauntered over with a knowing smirk.

"You've had surgery to correct the curve from your scoliosis." Jake said before he stopped beside Alan.

"How do you know?" Alan asked as he tried to finish buttoning up the blazer.

"My little sister has scoliosis, she had to have surgery when she was twelve." Jake said softly. "When I walked into the bathroom and saw Les and his friends giving you a hard time about your scar, I knew then what it was for."

"So, why'd you defend me? I'm a freak." Alan said hotly.

"Because you're not a freak…and nobody deserves to be picked on for something that was outside of your control. I saw how embarrassed my little sister was over her scar and she's a swimmer as well as a dancer. She's self-conscious when it comes to anyone seeing her scar, but she doesn't let that stop her from what she wants to do." Jake said carefully.

"Oh." Alan said, his anger depleting and calming.

"When I came into the bathroom and saw them giving you a hard time, the only thing I could think about was that you hadn't had control over your condition." Jake replied as he gestured for he and Alan to leave the teacher's communal bathroom before they got caught and given detention.

Walking through the hall, Jake and Alan talked a little bit about Alan's summer, what his recovery has been like as well as how it was different for Jake's little sister Cassie.

"Scoliosis was hereditary in my family's case. My mom had it and she passed it on to me, my sister and brother. My sister needed surgery though because the curve in her back was more severe than mine or my brother's." Jake said as he and Alan walked along through the hall, stopping at Alan's dorm to retrieve his book bag and drop off his toiletries bag. Fermat was already gone for his AP class which started at 7 on the nose. Alan didn't take AP classes so he didn't have to be up quite as early as his younger friend.

"Scoliosis doesn't run in my family…that's why my family and I were surprised that I needed surgery. It all started with back pain for me. My dad took me to my pediatrician and he stressed that I go get an X-ray on my spine after he detected something abnormal." Alan said as he talked to Jake. Through their conversation, Alan found that Jake was a junior while he was a freshman. Jake was the son of a famous environmentalist. His dad and mom were both huge advocates for better treatment of the environment.

"It doesn't have to be hereditary though. Sometimes a person just gets the luck of the draw. Like yourself and my mom. Neither of her parents had scoliosis and yet they diagnosed her with it when she was sixteen. Modern medicine has gotten a lot better and now the surgeries are better with correcting the curves without too much harm or a longer recovery time.

Jake walked with Alan until they came to the canteen for breakfast. Jake saw his friends and waved at them from the door. "Where are you sitting?"

Alan pointed into the corner of the room where it was sparse of people. Jake frowned at that.

"Where are your friends?" Jake asked as he looked around.

"I…I haven't talked to any of them since I got back from summer break." Alan said. He felt bad about alienating himself from his friends, but he was afraid of them judging him for needing surgery.

"You can't hide from them Alan. They're your friends…they'll understand that you needed surgery if you told them." Jake said as he surveyed the room and saw a few boys he'd seen Alan hanging with before summer break. They were leaning in and whispering to each other before one of them stood up and called Alan's name. Jake pointed to the boys and pushed Alan toward them. "Go hang out with them Alan, and know that you can come find me if anyone is giving you a hard time about your surgery."

"Thanks Jake." Alan said with a smile that lit up his face before receiving a high five from Jake.

"No problem dude." Jake said before separating from Alan and going to sit down with his friends across the room.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan sighed as he raised his right leg off the padded table and proceeded to do a hamstring stretch like his physical therapist instructed. It was slow going, but the therapist helped ease Alan's leg up and helped him hold it for a count of ten before helping him lower his leg back down. They switched sides and repeated the process until Alan's therapist felt they'd stretched Alan's hamstrings enough.

"Okay Alan. Now I want you to come down here onto the floor and lay down with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. I want you to do what's known as a pelvic tilt. You're going to isolate your abdominal muscles and lift your lower back from the floor using your stomach muscles. You'll hold that position for ten seconds before you flatten out your back and I want you to do that three times. This is going to strengthen your lower back muscles then we'll work on your upper back in a few."

"I hate this." Alan growled under his breath.

Dr. Guther had decided at his three-month post-surgical checkup that he should begin therapy and they'd decided on a therapist close to Alan's school. He had special permission from the school to leave campus three times a week for an hour and a half. He used public transit to take him to the physical therapist's clinic and he'd been doing this for about a week.

"Nobody ever said physical therapy would be fun. But it's what you need." Fletcher commented as he instructed Alan to lower his hips back down onto the floor. He'd been doing his exercises consistently and even though he'd been doing it for a week, he was still impressing his therapist. "Okay, last rep and then we're moving on to the next exercise."

Alan groaned as he lifted his hips from the floor and held the position for ten seconds. He looked around the room, noticing he wasn't the only one there. Yvonne was with a patient same as Charles while Sydney was answering the phone at the front desk. They were all busy, but Alan felt like he was wasting Fletcher's time. Yvonne's patient was recovering from a car accident and needed help to learn how to walk again while Charles was working with a veteran. Alan needed back surgery and that was his reason for needing therapy.

"Okay Alan, now I want you to rest on your knees with your with your palms flat on the floor." Alan's therapist Fletcher said as he got down on the floor with Alan to give an example of what he wanted Alan to do. "You'll lift one hand off the floor and extend your arm out in front of you. Like so. After you hold that position for a few seconds I want you to put your arm back down and extend the opposite leg behind you. We'll work up to you doing both one arm and one leg simultaneously but I want you to get used to the feeling first."

Alan focused on what Fletcher wanted him to do and he groaned softly as he extended one arm in front of himself. It's not so much that it hurt, but it'd been a while since he'd raised his arms at this angle and it was pulling muscles he forgot he'd had.

"Okay, put your arm back down. Find your center and then slowly lift your leg up and extend it out behind yourself." Fletcher instructed. Alan felt Fletcher put his palm just below Alan's knee and apply light pressure to help Alan get his leg up and extended. "Good, now I want you to hold this position for a few seconds then we'll switch to the other side."

"Why are we doing these particular exercises?" Alan asked. To him it seemed like Fletcher was instructing him how to do yoga or Pilates.

"I'm starting you out on some exercises to strengthen your lower back muscles. We'll begin working on your upper back muscles in a few minutes, but I want you to strengthen those before I have you do anything more rigorous. Having surgery like you did, means those muscles were cut into and separated. They've weakened a little bit from the scoliosis itself, but with the surgery separating those muscles; you'll need to tighten and strengthen those muscles back up again to avoid hurting yourself." Fletcher said as he helped Alan with his exercises. "Okay, go ahead and sit up for a few moments. I'm going to go get an exercise ball. Get a drink of water and I'll be right back."

Alan sat up on his knees before he slowly got to his feet and went to go get a drink of water from the fountain. He knew he needed the therapy, especially since his scoliosis was worse than most boys, but he didn't realize how tiring it was.

Fletcher came back holding a small exercise ball. It wasn't super big and could easily be carried with one hand. Alan looked at the ball with a questioning look. What was a little ball like that going to do for his recovery?

"I want you to lay on the floor again, you'll use your feet to pick up the ball and you'll lift the ball from the floor before you lower it back down. I don't want you to pick it up very far, we'll work up to lifting up all the way." Fletcher instructed as he helped Alan out for a few minutes before he took a step back from helping and just watched Alan's form.

Alan did as Fletcher said, and they continued the therapy for a while longer before Fletcher called it quits for the day.

"Nice work today Alan, I'll see you again on Wednesday. Same time?" Fletcher asked as he picked up his appointment book and looked through to the next couple of days.

"Yeah, that works for me." Alan said as he pulled his hoodie on over his t-shirt. He felt sore and he knew he'd need a hot shower before the day was over. He walked over to the bus stop and he checked his watch. The next bus was going to show up in five minutes and it'd take him to the bus stop which was a block and a half from the school. He'd have to walk for about a stone's throw from the bus stop to his school then it'd be time for lunch. He'd have enough time to run to the locker room and change back into his uniform before lunch. He was doing therapy instead of gym class, so he was still able to take a quick shower before getting dressed again.

Boarding the bus, Alan noticed there wasn't a seat available anywhere. He stood in the aisle and held onto one of the handles that hung from the ceiling. He wasn't the only one thankfully and he had to move with the movement of the bus when they hit a pothole in the road. The jarring certainly didn't feel good, but it didn't hurt as bad as Alan assumed it might have if he'd boarded the bus not long after he'd had surgery. He watched the scenery go by, hoping his motion sickness wouldn't spring up at all. He didn't take his motion sickness meds because he didn't anticipate beings stuck in a moving vehicle for more than ten minutes at the most.

It was sooner than he'd anticipated that his feet were back on solid ground. He shouldered his soft bag that had his workout shoes which he'd had to have for therapy. He wasn't allowed to wear street shoes in the activity room so he had his gym shoes with him. He walked to the front gate of the school and showed his permission slip and his student ID to one of the guards and was allowed entry back onto campus grounds.

He made his way back to the locker room and checked the time. He had about ten minutes to take a quick shower before he'd have to leave so his class mates wouldn't ask about his whereabouts. When he'd finished his shower, he took off to the canteen so he could be first or second to get his lunch.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan leaned back in his computer chair in his dorm, tongue in his cheek as he listened to his dad talk about his studies. Alan wasn't doing as well as they thought he would in his history class and his dad was giving him hell about it.

"What am I going to do about you Alan? When I told, you I'd allow you to do Thunderbirds training, I figured you'd keep up in your studies. I still want you to get a decent education."

"I'm trying dad…but my teacher is a bore. He talks slowly and he seems unenthusiastic about history himself. Half the guys in his class are asleep!" Alan said in his defense. It's not that he wasn't trying, it was that it was hard to get excited for history when his teacher lulled everyone to sleep from the moment they sat in their seats. His last history class was interesting and it piqued Alan's curiosity to learn more. This new teacher…not so much.

"I don't care Alan. You need to pick up your grades before I'll let you resume training. If you can pass your next exam before Christmas, maybe I'll reconsider. But until then, you're grounded." Jeff said with a non-apologetic look adorning his face. Alan grew angry and disconnected the call before he went to lay on his bed. He wondered if anyone would miss him if he'd smothered himself.

"H-Hey Alan." Fermat said as he entered their shared room and sighed as he dropped his book bag to the floor. "H-How's your d-day been?"

"Great, I just found out that I'm grounded…again." Alan said from beneath his pillow. "I'm skimming a D in my history class.

"W-What?" Fermat asked in surprise. "But y-you been s-studying!"

"Apparently not hard enough…a C+ on a test apparently isn't good enough for my dad." Alan mumbled once more from beneath his pillow.

"W-What's the c-collateral?" Fermat asked, hoping it wasn't what he was thinking it was.

"My thunderbirds training." Alan said making Fermat grimace. "I don't know why I even try."

"I-If you'd l-like, I c-can try t-talking to y-your dad." Fermat offered.

"He's pretty much decided. He said that if I can pick up my grade by Christmas, he may reconsider." Alan said as he sat up on the side of his bed. "There's no pleasing him Ferm."

"I-I'll help y-you study! I-I don't w-want you t-to miss o-out on y-your training." Fermat said adamantly.

Meanwhile John flared his nose at what his dad was telling him.

"Dad, you can't do that. The poor kid has had enough disappointments in this year to last a life time. Please reconsider!" John said emphatically, trying to sway his dad to change his decision on Alan's training. "We promised it to him so he'd cheer up during his recovery!"

"Dad, I'm with John on this one. We told him he could begin and John was looking forward to having two weeks with Alan during Christmas break." Scott said with a shake of his head.

"Boys, your brother needs to prioritize. He can't be expected to continue his training when he doesn't put any effort in to his studies." Jeff said as he heaved a sigh. "He used to do so well in history class, now he's got a barely passing grade."

"Well dad, maybe it's the teacher. Not Alan. He's always studying for history and he's consistently pulling bad grades, I've quizzed him before tests and he's always spot on with his answers." Virgil said in Alan's defense. Virgil was a history buff when he was in school so naturally he'd offer to help Alan with homework when he could.

"Fine, I'll have a conference with his teachers and find out what's going on. But my decision still stands." Jeff said before he stood up, signaling an end to the meeting with his boys.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

A week later and Alan yawned before his next test. He and Fermat had stayed awake until almost three in the morning studying for Alan's history test. He felt no more sure about this test than he had about his last one. His back was sore from sitting hunched over his desk for eight hours and his neck was throbbing. And to top it off he had therapy after his test…oh goodie.

Going into the testing room, Alan sighed as he sat in front of his desk while the teacher distributed their tests face down. He was tempted to peek, but he knew he'd fail it outright if he was caught. His teacher said he'd count the person sneaking a peek at their test a zero on their grade. When it was finally time to begin the test, Alan flipped his test over and stared at his packet.

Alan propped his head up on his hand as he began to read through the test. He struggled to answer them though he knew what he wanted to say in his answers. The questions, a lot of them were worded in such a way that they confused Alan beyond belief. He spent some time on the first page, trying to understand and fully comprehend the questions before writing out his answers.

By the time the test was over, Alan's brain felt numb and he felt like he could kick his brain around the floor and it wouldn't recognize the pain not that the human brain had any pain receptors. He turned in his test and reclaimed his seat for the last ten minutes of class. His teacher sat there grading the tests and he didn't lift his head until the bell chimed signaling the end of class. Alan stiffly stood up and left the classroom with his fellow classmates, trudging to the gym to grab his gym shoes and change into his Wharton sweats and t-shirt. Once done, Alan walked to the office to get his pass excusing him from campus for his therapy downtown.

He ran into his history teacher at the office, but Alan didn't bother to ask how he'd done on the test. He doubted his teacher was impressed with his answers.

Alan gave a small half smile to the secretary after she'd given him his pass and Alan left to go therapy. He made it past the gate and was waiting at the bus stop for maybe five minutes when the bus showed up. Alan boarded the bus and yawned as he stayed standing. He nearly missed his stop as he nodded off whilst standing up before he disembarked the vehicle. Walking into the clinic, Alan signed in to begin his therapy at the appointed time. He smiled tiredly at Fletcher when the guy who couldn't have been much older than Scott approached him with a wide grin.

"Hey Alan, ready to get the ball rolling?" Fletcher asked.

"Alright…let's do it." Alan said as he hauled his tired and lethargic body from his seat.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff sighed as he waited patiently for Alan's history teacher to answer his video phone. The man was busy, that Jeff was sure of. But he did wonder why the teacher had been flunking Alan's assignments recently. Alan's last history teacher was always going on and on about Alan's affinity for history. This new teacher never explained why he was constantly giving Alan poor grades.

"Hello?" The man answered as he opened the connection so he could speak with Jeff as well as see him face to face.

"Hello, are you Mr. Harvey?" Jeff asked as he smiled tightly at the teacher.

"Yes, I'm Cole Harvey. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr…" Mr. Harvey said before trailing off.

"Tracy. I'm Jeff Tracy. Alan's dad." Jeff said.

"Hello Mr. Tracy. Pleasure to meet you." Mr. Harvey said. "How may I help you?"

"Mr. Harvey, I was calling to discuss with you Alan's grade. It's been brought to my attention via the latest progress report that Alan is in danger of receiving a grade no better than a D for your semester class."

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Meanwhile, Alan was holding on to the handlebars on the treadmill as Fletcher turned the speed up so that he was speed walking on an incline.

"I want you to build up to a jog, for now we'll stick with walking." Fletcher said.

"How long will we be doing the walking exercises?" Alan panted as he tried to keep up with the faster pace of the treadmill belt. It was a lot faster than he'd been used to these last three months.

"For a few minutes, each day. Dr. Guther hasn't cleared you for jogging yet and I don't want you to push yourself too hard. Not yet anyway." Fletcher explained as he picked up the iPod that sat in the window sill. It was wired to a portable speaker to play music all day because a lot of patients felt better listening to music. He scrolled through the list of songs before selecting a song that was good walking music. It was just he and Alan now in the activity room. Yvonne and her patient were in the pool room doing some weight bearing exercises while Charles was forced to reschedule his and his patient's appointment because of scheduling conflicts.

"I'll be glad if I never have to run again." Alan groaned as he stepped off the belt and stood on the side runners, giving his legs a break for a few minutes. The speed walking wasn't bad, but it certainly didn't feel good on Alan's back. His back was still sore from sitting up in his computer chair all night and despite Fletcher's magic fingers kneading the knots from Alan's neck, there wasn't a lot that could be done for his back especially when it was simply strain from poor posture and not allowing his back to rest. Fletcher knew of Alan's test and he'd openly quizzed Alan on trivia about history. Proving to both Alan and Fletcher that Alan knew his stuff.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Jeff sighed for about the hundredth time that day. After his meeting with Mr. Harvey, Jeff was finally able to get to the bottom of Alan's poor grades. Alan was doing amazingly well. Turns out that there was an Aaron Percy in the same class as Alan and Mr. Harvey had gotten them mixed up more than once. He'd apologized profusely and hurried to correct Alan's grades.

Jeff felt happy that he'd gotten it taken care of and he was waiting with bated breath for Alan to get done with class. He'd already told the other boys what he'd found out and he watched each of the boys sigh and practically deflate at the reassuring news. When it was time for Alan and Fermat to be done with class, Jeff called the boy's room and waited for it to connect.

It didn't.

Jeff frowned at that and tried again and again before he called Alan's watch. When he failed to get an answer, Jeff called Fermat's connection on his laptop. Neither boy was answering and Jeff was growing concerned. Normally they'd call right back especially if they were late answering the call. But Jeff called five separate occasions. He tapped his finger on his desktop impatiently before calling Fermat's laptop again.

This time yielded an answer and the bespectacled boy answered the call with dreary eyes sagging behind his glasses.

"Y-Yes?" Fermat asked softly.

"I called Alan's laptop and watch, he didn't answer. Is everything okay?" Jeff asked.

"Y-Yeah. Alan a-and I stayed up u-until three this morning s-studying. He's laying d-down for a bit and s-so was I." Fermat said before turning the laptop to show Alan sleeping on his bunk. The older boy was sound asleep. "Alan b-barely slept last n-night and since t-the test is done, he's p-playing catch up."

"I'm sorry for waking you Fermat, please let Alan know to give me a call when he's up. I wanted to talk to him." Jeff said. He smiled at the bespectacled boy before the connection was severed and Jeff was left to his thoughts and a dark screen.

Around an hour later, Jeff was typing away at a company email when his screen showed he had a video call trying to establish a connection. Jeff accepted the request and he smiled at his youngest son's grainy face before the connection cleared and the picture was crisp.

"Hey dad." Alan said as he tried to hide a yawn.

"Hey there son. How was your nap?" Jeff asked as Alan yawned again.

"Not nearly long enough." Alan murmured as he stifled another yawn. "So, what's you want to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to start off with an apology. I should have checked my facts before I grounded you. I wanted to let you know that I am going to lift the grounding. It was an unwarranted grounding." Jeff said to which he saw Alan's eyes widen.

"What do you mean?" Alan asked as his eyes got impossibly wider.

"I called your teacher Mr. Harvey and talked with him. It turns out it was an error on his part that you were doing so badly. He got your grades mixed up with another boy in your class. He's correcting it now if he hasn't already. You actually have an A-." Jeff said to which he saw the blood drain from Alan's face.

"You're kidding me." Alan said, his voice dazed.

"No, he showed me your tests and assignments and I pointed out that the name was misspelled. When he realized the error, he checked his gradebook to see that he'd given the wrong grade not only to you but to the other boy." Jeff said. "So in light of this discovery, I see it as fair and well worth the apology for my unwarranted judgement. I hope you'll forgive me and I hope you're still looking forward to your stint on five during your month-long break."

"Thank God." Alan sighed. "You have no idea how worried I was about my grade in history."

"I have a pretty good idea." Jeff said softly. "Fermat told me that you boys stayed up studying until late and even then you barely slept."

"Yeah, it's hard to sleep when your thoughts won't quiet down." Alan said with a grimace. He knew he'd over done it, his back was twinging at him.

"When's the last time you took something for your back?" Jeff asked as he saw the grimace adorning Alan's youthful face.

"Last night. I didn't want to take something that would knock me out." Alan admitted. Now he had a semblance of understanding to the kind of pain Gordon endured when he overdid himself.

"For heaven's sake, go take something!" Jeff ordered with a frown. "Then I want you to go get some dinner."

"Yeah, that's the thing…Fermat's got me confined to my bed." Alan said. "My back was sore after my nap and I felt some lightening shooting up and down my back when I tried getting out of bed and he went to get both of us dinner."

"When Fermat gets back, I want you to ask him for your meds and I want you to take something before you eat. This isn't healthy and you need to keep up with your meds." Jeff stated adamantly.

"Yes sir." Alan replied meekly.

"Good. Now, you have less than a month to pack a bag of things to take with you for two weeks on Five. I want you to give some thought before you pack. You will be learning while you're up there, this won't be a vacation." Jeff said before he hurriedly disconnected the call when the klaxon started blaring.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan sat back in the jump seat with his eyes closed for the duration of the flight to Thunderbird 5. He hated traveling by any mode of transportation. If he wasn't in control of the vehicle, he got a queasy stomach and that wasn't a very comforting feeling. He'd done the centrifuge test preparing for a two week life on Thunderbird 5 and hadn't made it out of the arena before he'd hurled.

"You doing okay Al?" Scott asked carefully and he noticed his brother's pale complexion.

"I'm fine…just ignoring everything." Alan said, while trying to keep his stomach in one place. Right where it belonged.

"Let me know if you're going to be sick at all." Scott said as he piloted towards the space station. He could see it, they didn't have much farther.

"I'll let you know." Alan murmured softly before he swallowed thickly. "Are we there yet?"

"Don't make me turn this spaceship around." Scott said playfully.

"No really, are we almost there? I don't know how much longer I can last." Alan said, his voice shaking dangerously.

"Johnny boy? You hear this? The kiddo isn't feeling hot and will need you to get him where he needs to go." Scott said as he prepared to dock the ship beside the space station.

"Loud and clear Scooter." John said as he stood near the entryway. "Think you can make it to the bathroom Sprout?"

"I don't think he's going to make it to the bathroom." Scott said as he helped his little brother up when the entryway opened between Thunderbird Three and Five. John took over and lead Alan towards the bathroom before closing the door so Alan could decide what he wanted to do. Whether that was hurl or gulp air like he was going to be deprived of it soon.

"So…how was the flight?" John asked.

"Good, Alan stayed quiet. He was trying to ignore the feeling of flying like it wasn't actually happening." Scott said carefully. "Think the kid is doing okay in there?"

"I'm fine…" Alan's voice echoed weakly from within the bathroom. When he finally emerged, he was pale and shaky. The zipper of his flight suit had been unzipped and was showing off his t-shirt underneath.

"Feeling alright?" John asked as he gently cupped Alan's cheek. "You're clammy."

"I know." Alan said as he let Scott and John lead him towards a seat. He sat down and swallowed thickly as he felt his stomach do a loop de loop. "Please tell me this doesn't last the whole time."

"No, maybe a few hours…a day at most then you should be better." John reassured. "You can suck on those peppermint candies Virgil gave you. Peppermint is good for calming a queasy stomach."

"I hope so." Alan said with a frown as he wrapped an arm around his midsection. Scott dug into his pocket of his flight suit and pulled out a stick of peppermint gum and gave it to Alan after unwrapping it. Alan chewed it slowly, letting the peppermint rinse the sour taste from his mouth. He hated getting sick. It wasn't only embarrassing, but Alan was afraid he'd be teased because of his inability to keep the contents of his stomach in one place.

"Hey it's okay kid. It's happened to the best of us." John said as he carefully led Alan to the kitchen to sit down. He hadn't started cooking anything because he assumed Alan wouldn't be keen to smell if he was queasy. "Go ahead and have a seat while Scott and I offload everything."

"Not like I could help if I wanted to. I'm still restricted from lifting anything heavier than three textbooks at a time." Alan groaned before he laid his head on top of his folded arms. He was just going to sit here and stay as still as possible so hopefully he would keep everything else in one place. He could hear John and Scott talking, John had returned to Thunderbird Five after seeing Alan off to school. He'd stayed Earth side to lend a hand while Alan was recovering from surgery still.

"Think you can handle the sprout for two weeks?" Scott asked from within the cargo hold of Thunderbird 3.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure he'll be loads of help for me up here. And I miss the kid when I'm up here for so long. I missed his last birthday you know." John said as he took the box from Scott and wandered in to the main path to set down the box of supplies. It was close enough to the kitchen that Alan could hear everything they said to each other. "I can't wait to show him my world up here."

"Your world is pretty black and white – I hope Alan can handle being up here with you." Scott teased.

"I'm not that bad Scooter. Sure, I like keeping to a schedule, but I do let myself be spontaneous. Occasionally." John said in his defense.

Scott snorted a laugh at the statement. He knew how his brother could be on any given day. He had little schedules everywhere. He was the only brother that Scott had that carried a planner with him and planned everything to a T. It still earned John teasing since he was a kid that had to plan for studying before tests.

"Well, just don't bore him to death while he's up here. We still want to spend some time with the kid when he's back earth side before he goes back to school." Scott said as he lugged the last box into the main entry. Once the boxes were set down, Scott went into the kitchen to find Alan sitting in the same position. Head down on his folded arms and eyes closed. "Think you'll make it two weeks' kiddo?"

"Mm-hmm." Alan said wisely not speaking.

"Okay, well I'll see you when I come back here in two weeks. You be good for Johnny and try not to give him a hard time." Scott said as he ruffled Alan's hair. "I will know if you do."

Alan halfheartedly slapped at Scott's hand on his head and groaned. John took the cue for what it was and knew it loosely translated to 'go away' in sick little brother speak. "Okay Scott, leave Alan alone and get on home."

After Scott left, John went back to his control panel and monitored everything across the globe. He'd been watching a few weather patterns, keeping his eye on the sky down below. It'd been just a little over an hour when Alan shuffled in with an arm around his midsection. He sank down into the spare seat beside John with a groan.

"How the stomach kiddo?" John asked as he isolated a weather pattern on his monitor and brought it in closer for inspection.

"Still a little off." Alan said as he hunched forward in his seat and hung his head. "So…um, what does this stuff do exactly?"

"This stuff is my work…but you can begin learning about this tomorrow when you're feeling better. In the meantime, we can just hang out and chat." John said as he leaned back in his seat and sighed.

"Well, unless you're a mind reader I won't be doing much talking." Alan said softly.

"Then why don't you go get an early night. I can keep an eye here." John stood and gently hugged Alan before it occurred to him that Alan didn't know where their room was. "Follow me and I'll show you to our room."

John grabbed Alan's satchel and shouldered the straps as he led his brother to the sleeping quarters. Once there, John showed Alan which bed he'd be using and made sure his brother didn't need anything before he returned to his control panel. He stayed up for a few more hours before deciding that it was time to turn in. The weather patterns he'd been monitoring had cleared up and now there weren't any storms or threats. The world would sleep peacefully tonight.

John set the auto alert system to awaken him should anything crop up but he doubted it. Standing with a loud yawn and a long stretch, John turned out the lights to the control panel and went to the room he'd be sharing with his kid brother. He walked in carefully, so as not to awaken his brother who was sound asleep and he changed into his sleeping tank top and shorts before he crawled into his bunk.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

The following morning, John woke up to smile at his kid brother who was laying starfish style in his small bed. Alan always was a restless sleeper, and this time was no different. Alan was spread out across the entirety of his bed and he didn't seem to have a care in the world. John noticed that Alan's color had come back sometime during the night and John wondered how Alan's stomach would be once he was awake.

'Cold cereal is probably the way to go.' John thought to himself as he sat up on the side of his bed and ran a hand through his mussed-up hair. He grabbed his flight suit from where he'd heaped it up on the floor and pulled it on over his sleep clothes. John wandered into the kitchen and set up the coffee pot before going to the bathroom to complete his morning ablutions. He stopped back by the sleeping quarters after getting ready for the day and checked in on Alan. Kid seemed like he was getting ready to awaken.

John went back to the kitchen and grabbed the powdered milk to reconstitute it. He wanted some cold cereal and he didn't want to cook anything until he was sure his brother would feel up to eating. Having just settled in with a mug of fresh hot coffee and a bowl of corn flakes, John settled in to eat and read the e-newspaper.

"Morning John." Alan mumbled as he stumbled into the kitchen and sat across from John. The kid's eyes were barely opened and John wondered if Alan was sleepwalking again. John willingly pushed his cup of coffee across the table to his kid brother, whose eyes popped open just a little more at the smell of caffeine. "Mine?"

"It's yours if you want it…I can always make more." John said as he watched his brother eye the coffee like it wanted to bite him before sipping it. "You like?"

"Perfect…dad and Scott like it too strong so I don't really get coffee that I like." Alan sighed as he savored the taste.

"Yeah, I prefer my coffee to be a little weaker than theirs. At least I know it's not strong enough to make my hair stand on end and make me repeat the word 'java' umpteen billion times.

"I actually have made myself hyper just by drinking one cup of their brew. I try not to drink it unless I have some serious studying underway." Alan said as he sipped from the mug carefully.

"Speaking of studying, how'd your last test go?" John asked knowing that the last grading fiasco left Alan with a D-…though that was an err on part of the teacher getting two of his students' names mixed up.

"It went great. I got my grade updated in the student portal and I got a 97%." Alan said with a shy smile when John held his hand up for a high five.

"Awesome job kiddo!" John congratulated. John fixed his brother a bit of breakfast when it was clear the kid felt a lot better than he had the day prior and soon they were talking and laughing. Alan sighed after they both finished breakfast, making John tilt his head in question.

"I haven't gotten the grand tour yet and Virgil told me that this isn't a vacation. I still need to do my therapy despite not being down on earth." Alan said as he gave a small stretch.

"Let me show you around and then I can help you with your therapy before we get to work. I checked before eating breakfast and everything seems fine for now." John said as he led Alan through the station. He pointed out the on-site gym where Alan could go to do his therapy, the shower room, the kitchen, the control room and their sleeping quarters. Despite the space station being a huge station, there wasn't a whole lot of room. Most of the size housed life sustaining technology, and alert systems. The tour that John showed Alan was all there was to John's home away from home.

"Thanks for the tour John." Alan said as he and John entered the gym so Alan could do his therapy. The brothers sat down on the padded floor and Alan started off with stretching his hamstrings, like Fletcher had him doing every time he came in for therapy. John watched Alan stretch slowly and when Alan indicated that he needed help, John was there to offer a hand.

"How's the therapy been going kiddo?" John asked as he helped Alan with pulling his knee to his chest and holding it. Alan could do it himself, but he asked John for help and so he let him help even if it was simply adding slight pressure.

"It's been good. Five months' post-op and Dr. Guther said she might release me to start jogging next month. Which I don't look forward to at all." Alan groaned as he sat up and straightened his legs in front of him before trying to grab his toes.

"But you love to run. Why aren't you looking forward to it?" John asked, feeling more than a little disheartened. Jogging was one activity that he and Alan did together whenever they were both on the island at the same time and it was an activity that they both enjoyed.

"I don't look forward to trying to run with hardware in my back." Alan said before looking up at John with his lip held firmly in his teeth. Alan sighed loudly before he slumped forward. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah, you know me. Cross my heart and hope to die." John said as he drew an invisible cross over his heart.

"I'm afraid it'll hurt to run with all this metal in my back." Alan said softly to which John scooted closer to his brother. "You know, I never see Gordon run much anymore. If he does, his back usually aches afterwards and I'm afraid that I'll feel the same pain he does."

"Gordon runs, he just tries to be stealthy about it." John said before he rested back on his hands. "His injuries are different than your own kiddo. Gordo broke parts of his back and that left parts of his spine compressed. Of course, it'll hurt for him to run. But you had to have surgery to reverse an abnormal curvature. The hardware in your back is different than the kind Gordo has. And it's not metal, it's titanium alloy."

"Titanium is a type of metal John." Alan replied with an eye roll.

"I know, just giving you a hard time." John said before he and Alan continued where they left off with Alan's exercises. Once they'd finished with Alan's stretches, Alan went to the stationary bike and entered his settings before climbing on and beginning to peddle.

"Your therapist has got you cycling?" John asked as he watched Alan adjust his form on the bike and continue peddling.

"Yeah, it's low impact. I can do this and it won't bother my back as much as running might right now." Alan said as he accepted his water cup he'd been allowed to keep from his time in the hospital. "I'll be done in ten minutes."

"Okay. I'll head on back to the control room and I'll wait for you." John said as he watched his brother. He was more than proud of his little brother for doing this. Not just coming to Thunderbird Five for training, but making a decision that would have affected his health in the long run. Alan had been the one to ultimately decide that yes, he wanted the surgery, despite the very real concern of potential blood loss or paralyzation happening. None of the decisions had been made by their dad. Alan hadn't been forced into having the surgery.

"Thanks John." Alan panted as he focused on his peddling. John stepped out of the room but glanced back in after the door had shut and he smiled at his brother. The kid was growing up before his very eyes. At one time, Alan might have been a spoiled little brat to him and his brothers – at least as was portrayed by the stigma that they were wealthy and Alan attended a pre-ivy league school. Wharton's was a very scholastic school and the students that went there normally went on to do great things. That was why Alan attended. It wasn't long after their mother passed away, that their dad had focused on building his Tracy Enterprises from the ground up.

Their dad had been an astronaut up until Alan's birth, which ultimately led to their mother's demise. Their mom needed an emergency C-section after Alan had gotten the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck so many times that if their mom even so much as sneezed, Alan's heart rate would dip dramatically. She'd made it through the C-section without a problem, but it was after that took her from them. She'd gotten a staph infection and went septic.

Their dad had been at the John F Kennedy Space Center when their mom had been rushed into C-section. Their mom's brother had been in the room with his little sister because she hadn't wanted to be alone and their grandma placed an urgent call that Jeff board the next flight to be with his wife. Jeff made it in record time and he got to spend a few precious days with his wife and newborn son. Lucy had been able to hold her newborn, sing him to sleep and bottle feed him before she got sick. After their mom passed away, Jeff retired from his job as an astronaut, focusing on raising his children and caring for his newborn son.

When Alan was old enough to go into daycare, Jeff started building Tracy Enterprises and from that point on things just got easier financially. Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon lived with their dad in New York while Alan stayed with their grandma in Kansas. When Alan was ten, their grandma and Alan moved with the rest of their family to the island where the villa sat and their headquarters for International Rescue. Not long after moving to the island, Jeff enrolled Alan and Gordon in a boarding school in California. Gordon graduated from that boarding school, but Alan was furious and he'd rebelled. He got detention every week, got in fights with anyone that looked at him wrong and got expelled. Jeff enrolled Alan in a couple other schools, even enrolling him in a school out of London. Alan lived with Penelope and Parker for a year and then got expelled once again for fighting.

Jeff tightened the leash so to speak on Alan, reminding him that if he didn't straighten up the next school he'd be enrolled in would be military school. Wharton's accepted Alan despite the many expulsions and Alan had found he enjoyed it there. It became a bonus when Fermat who had originally moved with their family to the island started attending there also. Alan had since been in attendance for two years and had calmed down altogether. He focused on his studies, he pulled decent grades, got involved in sports and had quit getting detention save for the occasional prank that would land him in Saturday school. John was impressed with the dramatic turnaround from his brother. Alan had grown up a lot since starting school at Wharton's.

TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB

Alan swung his legs from where they dangled off the exam table. He was leaned forward and he focused on his shoe laces. Virgil sat by, one leg crossed over the other as he read emails on his phone. Their dad had entrusted Alan in Virgil's care for his 12 month follow up appointment. Alan had already been down to the radiology department, having gotten the necessary X-rays and various scans to determine if he was healed enough to be released.

Alan was nervous. No doubt about that. He'd been on restricted activity by Dr. Guther from the moment he'd gone under the knife. Now, it was a year later from the biggest decision he'd ever made on his own. Alan was fifteen now and growing stronger as the day was long and he was recovering by leaps and bounds. Alan managed to keep his need for surgery hidden from prying eyes having entrusted the secret with people he trusted with his life.

A knock at the door made Virgil and Alan look up before Dr. Guther entered the room holding a file in her hand. She smiled at the brothers before taking a seat on the rolling stool.

"Hello, Alan. Virgil. How have you boys been?" Dr. Guther asked.

"Well, Dr. Guther. Though I think Alan would beg to differ." Virgil said as he looked at his little brother. "Kid was going stir crazy before his operation."

Alan landed a swat against his brother's shoulder but that was the extent of the attack on his sibling. Dr. Guther chuckled at their brotherly antics before she opened the file she held and pulled out the films of Alan's scans.

"Well Alan. I'd say you're doing remarkably well. Your scans show no movements that would alert me that anything was wrong with your rods or screws. Can you remove your shirt so I can look at your incision?" Dr. Guther said as she set the folder with Alan's chart on the counter before she grabbed a pair of gloves and proceeded to lightly prod and palpate Alan's incision. She was feeling for any abnormalities that might not be detected on a scan. Once she was done, she stood back from Alan and removed her gloves. "You can put your shirt back on."

With that Dr. Guther went back over to the folder and removed one of the previously made scans and placed it up on the viewing lightbox. She flipped through the file a ways back before she found what she was looking for and pulled up Alan's previous scan that had been made a year prior. She placed them side by side before drawing Alan and Virgil's attention to the lightbox.

"Now Alan, this X-ray was the one that had been made at the hospital when you were initially told of the abnormal curve in your spine." Dr. Guther indicated the scan and she pointed out which part of his spine and the numbers of spinal column the curves were at. "The first curve starts approximately at the T3 in your spine and continued to the T8 before it changed direction and started curving in the opposite direction. From there the curve went from the T8 to the L3 as it continued into your lumbar region. You are a very fortunate young man."

"Fortunate but cursed." Alan said under his breath. He didn't feel very fortunate, if he had been he might not have need surgery in the first place.

"Now if we move on to the scan the day after your surgery, we can see that the curve is still present though not as prominent as it had been. If I remember correctly, you weren't even twelve hours' post-op when we got this scan." Dr. Guther said.

"I don't remember the scan." Alan started though was quickly silenced when Dr. Guther started to speak again.

"You were still asleep following your surgery. You slept for the first eighteen hours after you came out of recovery. Then you were in and out of consciousness." Dr. Guther said before she showed the most recent scan. "This is the scan we got today and as you can see, the curve has lessened a little more since your surgery. I don't think your curve will decrease any further, though I am pleased with the change we've seen so far."

Alan looked at the scans across the board and felt a little emotional. He never would have thought he'd ever need surgery for something so beyond his control. Sure, he'd broken his arm when he was nine and his ankle when he was twelve. But those injuries were due to his stupidity and his ability to attract trouble like a magnet. But this? Scoliosis? The condition didn't even run in his family. His brothers had all gotten scans done by Brains back on the island and even their dad and grandma had. None of them had the curves telltale of scoliosis. Alan seemed to be the only lucky duck in their family to be diagnosed with it. Their dad had called their mom's brother and her parents to ask them if scoliosis had been a problem in their family and it hadn't either. Nobody on either Alan's mom or dad's side of the family had it.

Alan was the first and after discussing it with Brains, it was hypothesized that scoliosis must be a recessive gene mutation in both Jeff and Lucy's family, but because their reproduction of children the recessive genes combined to give the children they bore a 50/50 percent chance of having scoliosis. Each of the boys had a 50 percent chance of having it versus not having it and Alan had won the genetic lottery so to speak. He'd had it and because it was a dominant trait in him, anyone he marries and has children with could reproduce a child or children that had scoliosis too. It wasn't fact though and not to say that any kids he had would have it, but because Alan did have scoliosis – it'd be recommended that he have routine checks done on his children to make sure it didn't advance to a degree that Alan's had.

If they'd caught it sooner, Alan might not have needed surgery and he might have just needed the brace to prevent further deterioration. But it hadn't been caught in time and thus, Alan needed surgery.

"You've done extraordinarily well in your recovery Alan and I must say that you continue to surprise me." Dr. Guther said after she picked up the Polaroids taken of Alan before and after. She showed them to Alan and Virgil, blowing both brothers away with the sight. "Since your surgery, you've actually gotten taller by a couple inches and that was just from what we straightened of your spine."

Alan looked down at the pictures and he was amazed at the difference. The first one, you could tell that something was off with his spine. Alan's right shoulder was higher than the other and his shoulder blade stuck out further while it was the complete opposite for the left. The post-operative surgery picture followed ten days after his surgery and it was when his stitches were removed. His incision was still an angry red with mottled bruising. It looked like he'd been jumped in a bar fight and got tossed around by the bouncer and Mike Tyson.

"Your spine has straightened immensely and I must say you are probably one of the only ones I see that make such a spectacular recovery." Dr. Guther said before she gave pause.

"Please tell me what I think you're saying." Alan said with a hopeful look on his face as well as in his eyes.

"I'm clearing you from your restricted activity." Dr. Guther said before she found her arms loaded with an ecstatic teen that was smiling and laughing so hard he was crying. "It's okay Alan, but just know that just because I'm clearing you for physical activity doesn't mean you can begin abusing your back. I want you to take care of yourself."

"I know…I'm just so happy!" Alan chuckled tearfully. He was hugging his doctor tightly. It was because of her that he had much such an amazing recovery. He was more than thankful for his doctor doing what she had with him but also what she'd done for Gordon. His older brother's secret was safe with him, but he would be forever indebted to Dr. Guther and her team for all she's done. "Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem Alan." Dr. Guther said. "Now, you can take these medical release papers with you and give them to your doctor when you go in for your sports physical come this September and I want you to play your hardest this season. You deserve it."

Once Alan had released Dr. Guther from the python like hug, Virgil stood and hugged the doctor quickly thanking her for all she'd done to help his brother. With a wave and a broad smile, the brothers were off. They waved and said their goodbyes to the secretary whom they'd gotten to know on a first name basis and left the clinic to get in their car.

As they were driving away, Virgil pressed the call button on the steering wheel and that put the phone on speaker out into the car. Jeff answered the phone and told his boys that they were on speaker phone for everyone to hear the final determination from Dr. Guther.

"So, boys how did it go?" Jeff asked. You could almost hear the expectation. It was so silent in the car that you could have heard a pin drop. "Well?"

Virgil and Alan looked at each other with twin glowing smiles before they both said it.

"Thunderbirds are go!"

The cheers that erupted from the speakers was enough to make both brothers in the car's interior feel more than a little emotional and Alan was laughing once more so hard that he'd begun crying.

"This calls for a celebration!" Onaha could be heard saying in the background. The brothers drove and laughed with each other until they made it to the jet field. Alan was so happy, he didn't notice his motion sickness nor did he feel down. He was elated. When they got back to the island, Alan was welcomed back with hugs and laughter from everyone. Once they were all sat down and getting ready to eat, Alan stood up to say a word to his family and friends.

"I just wanted to say to you all, thank you so much for standing behind me as I went through this surgery and honestly life changing experience. It was a very humbling experience and I know I'll never be the same. I wouldn't want to be the same if I was being honest. Discovering that I had a condition that required surgery was scary and I know I was at my worst, but you guys tolerated that and helped me find a balance. This is going to sound cheesy but when I was recovering from surgery, I was looking online and found a quote about family and I wanted to tell you that. It said, "Family is the anchor through rough waters." And I wanted you to know how much you being my pillars of strength when I felt like giving up means to me. I don't have any way of paying you back for the time you took to care for me when I couldn't care for myself. Except by saying thank you. Thank you so much."

"Here! Here!" Gordon called with a goofy grin, thereby getting the attention off Alan so he could find his composure.

They all sat after that and ate their meal together as a family.

END


End file.
